POSTEMPLOYMENT MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS AND INQUIRIES CLARIFIED BY THOMAS D. SCHNEID The May 1994 “Enforcement Guidance on Preemployment Disability-Related Inquiries and Medical Examinations under the Americans with Disabilities Act” (ADA), published by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for its field investigators, provided a clarification as to what constitutes postemployment medical examinations and inquiries. The ADA permits employers to make disability-related inquiries and to require medical examinations after a conditional offer of employment has been extended to the applicant but before the applicant begins work. In the Guidance document, the EEOC provides several tests or analyses through which a fire department can test its procedures to ensure compliance. First, the Guidance document addresses what constitutes a “bona fide offer,” which would permit a qualified employer to make disability-related inquiries. The Guidance document, citing Kansas Power and Light Company v. Burlington Northern Railroad Company, 740 F. 2d 780 (10th Cir. 1984), defined…
