To avoid violating the ADA and Hawaii law, employers must not ask applicants about their medical history or conduct any medical exam before making a job offer. Employers can, however, offer a job conditioned on an applicant passing a medical exam.
If an employer requires such a post offer exam, it must be sure to require exams for all entering employees who will be doing the same job. Employers may not lawfully require medical exams only for people with known disabilities or those who appear to have a disability.
The employer can probe to find out whether the person has the physical or mental qualifications needed to perform the job— or to determine whether a person can perform the job without posing a direct threat to the health or safety of others.
If the employer withdraws a conditional job offer based on results of an exam or inquiry, the employer must be able to show both of the following:
- The reasons were job related and consistent with business necessity, or the person was excluded to avoid a direct threat to health and safety.
- No reasonable accommodation could be made or such an accommodation would cause undue hardship.
hawaii employment law blog 