NCJ Number
123754
Journal
Labor Law Journal Volume: 41 Issue: 4 Dated: (April 1990) Pages: 195-213
Date Published
1990
Length
19 pages
Annotation
After considering why employers test for honesty, intelligence, genetic predispositions to disease, mental health, and AIDS in screening job applicants, this article explores some of the legal issues raised by these varieties of employee screening.
Abstract
Faced with the specter of litigation under the charge of negligent hiring practices and the spiraling costs of insurance and employee benefit packages, employers want to learn as much as possible about the employees' and applicants' aptitudes and physical and mental health. Regarding polygraph testing, Federal and State laws and case law either bar most private employers from requiring employees and applicants to take a polygraph or other honesty test or severely limit their ability to do so. Various State and Federal laws also prohibit or severely limit employer action against employees infected with AIDS, suggesting that AIDS testing would be of limited use for determining employers' policies. Regarding genetic testing, court cases thus far indicate that if a connection between certain genetic traits and a high risk of injury can be established for particular jobs, exclusion from a job based on genetic testing is permissible. Regarding intelligence and ability testing, the courts permit this so long as the testing is directly related to job task requirements. The same reasoning applies to psychological testing.