NCJ Number
187022
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 70 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2001 Pages: 23-32
Editor(s)
John E. Ott
Date Published
January 2001
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article offers practical advice to police administrators regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act’s (ADA) impact on police departmental operations and police hiring practices.
Abstract
The Americans with Disabilities Act has a profound impact on the way police administrators manage their workplaces. The ADA has practical implications in three major areas: (1) the nature of “disability-related inquiries” employers may make at different employment stages; (2) what kind of “medical examinations” employers many conduct at the various stages; and (3) the kind of “reasonable accommodations” employers are required to make at all stages. The complexity of the ADA makes it a difficult statute for the police manager to apply to the workplace. To aid the police manager in applying the ADA requirements to the workplace, the requirements are considered in terms of the stages of the employment relationship: (1) the application/interview stage; (2) the postconditional offer stage; and (3) the working stage. The article sets out in broad terms ADA “dos and don’ts” for police managers during these three stages. It explores the ADA’s practical implications of what inquiries and examinations are permissible and what reasonable accommodations may be appropriate at each stage. To ensure that employers judge disabled applicants and workers fairly, the ADA strikes a balance between the interests of the parties.