EEOC: High school diploma requirement might violate Americans with Disabilities Act

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Here's the problem: employers required diploma or GED because it opens them up to less legal BS than giving their own employment tests. If they could do the latter, this could make sense, but they need some way to screen for basic skills.

[PiKA2001]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

Here's the problem: employers required diploma or GED because it opens them up to less legal BS than giving their own employment tests. If they could do the latter, this could make sense, but they need some way to screen for basic skills.

Why couldn't an employer give a general aptitude test to applicants? Granted it'd cost some extra time and money but what legal BS would McDonald's or Walgreens face if they tested applicants on basic math or reasoning skills?


One thing that I think may cause some problems for employers is how to determine if an applicant dropped out of high school because he has ADD or another legitimate disability or if he dropped out because he thought school was lame. I'm by no means an HR guru, but I thought that medical/health information (unless it prohibits you from performing tasks related to that job) doesn't need to be disclosed.

[carnation]

If a student had a 504 plan when s/he was in school due to a disability, s/he could probably provide a copy of that.

[AlphaFrog]

This is too slippery slope for my liking.


What happens when this becomes legal standard and then someone decides that it's not fair to require a college degree for certain positions? I feel that if a company wants to require a PhD to be a janitor, it's their right to do so. Wages and free market should take care of those problems. Heck, if McD's wants to require a college degree, they should be able to...after their workforce dries up, though, they'd be forced to reconsider.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by PiKA2001

Why couldn't an employer give a general aptitude test to applicants? Granted it'd cost some extra time and money but what legal BS would McDonald's or Walgreens face if they tested applicants on basic math or reasoning skills?


One thing that I think may cause some problems for employers is how to determine if an applicant dropped out of high school because he has ADD or another legitimate disability or if he dropped out because he thought school was lame. I'm by no means an HR guru, but I thought that medical/health information (unless it prohibits you from performing tasks related to that job) doesn't need to be disclosed.

If you want to claim a disability that falls under the Americans with Disabilities act, you would have to disclose such information. Obviously, if you don't want them to know you have a health problem, and it would not affect your work or be readily noticeable, you could keep that to yourself. It's pretty hard to claim discrimination based on a disability if no one knows you have one.

[Pingyang]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

If you want to claim a disability that falls under the Americans with Disabilities act, you would have to disclose such information. Obviously, if you don't want them to know you have a health problem, and it would not affect your work or be readily noticeable, you could keep that to yourself. It's pretty hard to claim discrimination based on a disability if no one knows you have one.

But you wouldn't necessarily disclose that disability in the hiring stages. You might wait to disclose a non-visible disability until you needed accommodations. Especially if you didn't know based on the information available at hiring that you would need any accommodations.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by Pingyang

But you wouldn't necessarily disclose that disability in the hiring stages. You might wait to disclose a non-visible disability until you needed accommodations. Especially if you didn't know based on the information available at hiring that you would need any accommodations.

That's what I'm saying. If the disability is visible, it will be disclosed. If you don't have to tell someone, you wouldn't unless you absolutely have to. If after hiring you though, they would have to then provide reasonable accommodations or face discrimination charges. BUT, if you are claiming that they didn't HIRE you because of a disability, they would have to know you were disabled for this to be a valid statement.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by PiKA2001

Why couldn't an employer give a general aptitude test to applicants? Granted it'd cost some extra time and money but what legal BS would McDonald's or Walgreens face if they tested applicants on basic math or reasoning skills?

You have to be able to show that the test itself does not discriminate. If, say, 10 whites take the test and pass, and 10 blacks take the test and fail, McDonald's could get slapped with a lawsuit, and McD's would have to show that every question asked by the test is directly related to an on-the-job skill.