Pre-employment Physical testing

QuietStream

I am a HR Generalist in an agricultural industry. we are deciding to implement a pre-employment physical testing. Can any one give me a suggestion or any lead how to implement this policy and the outline/content of the physical test policy?

LivindonSouth

The safest and most defensible approach, and the one that will shift the testing burden where it should be, is to link with a certified physical therapist who has sufficient equipment for the pre-employment testing. If you require pre-employment physicals, you should discuss your plan with the clinic that does them. Many clinics are attached to or near a physical therapy site and they often partner with each other.

The therapist, in conjunction with your pre-employment physician, can tailor a simple series of tests that are specific to your jobs. They can determine whether or not the candidate is physically fit to perform them. You get a written response from them. This is your first line of defense when you decide to not employ someone based on their inability to perform the tasks.

We aren't equipped to measure such things, but the therepist and clinic are; such things as: range of motion, stooping, bending, pulling and lifting, stretch motions, overhead reach, squatting, twist and turn, grip strength, etc.

E Wart

Normally there is a Medical provider (Occupational Medicine) that you use for this such as Concentra. (You might want to talk with the organization you use for Worker's Comp.) If you call or go meet with them, they can walk you through what is the "normal" that they do for Post Offer physicals. You can then decide what meets the needs of the jobs that you have. (i.e. Do you use respirators? Are your employees required to lift and if so how much? Are there sound/hearing issues (controlled by OSHA)? etc. and make selections on what is included in the physical based on the job. We don't use the PT except for lifting evaluations and the Occupational Therapy area is able to do this for us too as well as urine collection for drug screen.) Once you meet/talk with them, it is really quite easy.
You will need to publicize it and I suggest posting your policy. I can't see that you will go back and test current employees, but will apply from here forward.

E Wart

HRinFL

I would be leery of calling it a pre-employment physical because it could lead to ADA issues. I would look at it as a fitness for duty assessment, after a conditional offer of employment was made. Make the offer contingent on meeting the physical requirements of the work being performed. With that in mind, you need to take the job duties of the position you are looking to fill, and determine physical capabilities required to meet those requirements. Once those are identified, you can develop a series of exercises that demonstrate the physical aptitude that you want to measure. Basically, you can only measure activity that will be necessary to complete the work being performed.

That being said, we have been piloting a "physical agility test" for several of our distribution positions. My thoughts at this point are: It is not worth it. You either have to have the tests performed by a clinic/doctor, or have someone certified at your business to properly administer the test. This can be costly, depending on the traffic. Additionally, it does not recreate "real world" conditions. We have a test requiring someone to step into a raised platform using their right foot, then their left foot, for a set time period. That does not recreate the number of times that someone steps up and down to retrieve product in our warehouses. Measuring the amount of force in someone's grip for thirty seconds does not equate into grabbing 2000+ cases a shift. Someone showing that they can lift 80+ pounds does not mean they can repeatedly lift the average case 2000+ times a day. I do not think that this is worth the money involved.

If you do this, get your company doctor involved from the beginning. Have him or her observe the work so that they have an understanding of the work being performed and then trust them to make the decision that is in the company's best interest.