An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 3 – Hiring

A school is not obligated to hire or retain an individual who is unable to perform the essential functions of a job with reasonable accommodation or who endangers his or her own health or the health and safety of others. 291 However, if a conditional job offer is withdrawn because of a medical or psychological exam/inquiry, the school must be able to show that:  Its reasons are job-related and consistent with business necessity or to avoid a direct threat to health or safety; and  After a timely, good faith interactive process with the applicant, no

reasonable accommodation was available that would enable the applicant to perform the essential functions of the job without a significant risk to health or safety, or that such an accommodation would cause an undue hardship. 292

P RE -E MPLOYMENT M EDICAL E XAMS

Section 9

A. O VERVIEW After a school makes a conditional job offer, it may obtain medical or psychological information about an applicant’s ability to perform essential job functions and to promote health and safety on the job. 293 A school may require a post-offer medical examination only if, however, it requires all applicants for the position to take the examination 294 and if the examination is job- related and consistent with business necessity. 295 Moreover, a medical examination may be unlawful if the test has a disparate impact on a protected group, e.g., applicants over 40 years old 296 or individuals with disabilities. 297 A school may use a medical or psychological examination to determine whether an applicant has the physical or mental qualifications to perform certain job functions or can perform a job function without posing a direct threat to health or safety. 298 Schools are not obligated to hire individuals who pose a direct threat to the health and safety of themselves or others. 299 Unless the school obtains a waiver which conforms to the requirements of the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, 300 the information which it may receive from an examining doctor is limited to information regarding the applicant’s functional capabilities and whether the applicant poses a direct threat to the health or safety of himself or herself or others. 301 The school must keep any medical information obtained by the examining doctor confidential, except that: it may inform supervisors and managers of restrictions on the work or duties of individuals with disabilities and necessary accommodations; and it may inform first aid and safety personnel, where appropriate, that the employee’s condition might require emergency treatment. 302

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 93