Hiring disabled veterans under the ADA

Scenario- 我们正在积极招募消防员，并为退伍军人提供退伍军人的信誉。其中一名申请人因在膝盖下方的腿上截肢而受伤。他穿着假肢，似乎还可以。我们必须雇用这位老兵吗？

讨论– It is an admirable position your department has taken by creating an opportunity for returning veterans and providing veterans preference points which are additional points provided to a candidate who is a veteran or a reservist (usually 5 to 10 points) added on to the written score or at the end of the scoring activities AND you seeking out those veterans to belong to your fire department.

The short answer is, you must allow the candidate the opportunity to complete all phases of the testing process to include the Physical Ability Testing to determine if this candidate can complete the essential elements of the job.

很多时候，一个部门会看待候选人及其感知的残疾，并确定他们无法完成这项工作。取消资格的候选人可以保留律师，并根据《美国人歧视法》（ADA）对您的部门提起歧视诉讼，并可能占上风。根据当前的2009年《美国残疾人法》（42 U.S.C. 12102（2）（a）（b）（c）），针对2009年1月在2009年1月产生的问题，将残疾定义为一种身体或精神障碍活动或这种情况的“记录”。ADA还涵盖了一个被视为“有残疾的人”，这意味着由于损害，他/她受到据称歧视性行动（除非损害较小且短暂）。一项重大的生活活动可能包括：步行，讲话，呼吸，听力，思考，思考，坐着和站在许多其他活动中。由于法律通常对定义重大生活活动的原因保持沉默，因此在许多歧视案件中，法院继续制定这些清单。

你的部门可能有另外一些er firefighters or possible firefighter candidates who may fall under the provisions of the ADA although you may not actually realize it. For example, those individuals who have difficulty reading or completing written testing or writing a report may have Dyslexia. Dyslexia is defined as a general term for disorders that involve difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols, but that do not affect general intelligence. Under the ADA your department must make “reasonable accommodations” by extending testing times, providing a reader for the candidate or other reasonable accommodation. The candidate or your current firefighter must bring medical documentation when making a Dyslexia claim.

您目前的员工在工作中生病或受伤并重返工作岗位呢？同样，您的部门可能被要求为可能涉及的返回员工建立合理的住宿：长期的轻型任务，工作描述的变化和重新分配，特殊设备，使消防员能够执行工作的重要职能和其他功能合理的住宿。Other medical conditions that may be protected include ADHD, Pregnancy, Alcoholism or Drug addiction or certain Mental illnesses. Seehttp://www.eeoc.gov/有关与残疾有关的其他信息。

EEOC表示，总的来说，“有残疾的人有责任告知雇主需要住宿。”因此，大多数法院裁定，如果雇员从未要求任何东西，雇主对不提供住宿不承担任何责任。雇主应意识到，一些法院说，如果雇主知道残疾，并且有理由知道需要住宿的必要性，那么即使没有明确的请求，它也可能有义务提供住宿。

每个消防部门雇主在面对雇员有严重限制人生活动的损害的情况时都应询问的问题：这种残疾人是否具有工作的背景，并且员工可以执行工作的基本功能，要么没有任何住宿，也没有合理的住宿？雇主应进一步询问资格标准是否由于其残疾而筛选出个人；它是否“与工作有关并与业务必要性保持一致？我们还应该通过评估这个问题来确定是否在合理的住宿标准下持续绩效：个人是否对自己或他人构成直接威胁？直接威胁是当一个人有一个人时残疾对他/她自己或他人造成重大伤害的重大风险，并且没有合理的住宿将危害的风险降低到该水平以下。

Finally, we are seeing an uptick in the number of firefighters and especially returning veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Many PTSD events are acquired on the job and the employer must recognize those symptoms and have a referral system in place such as an EAP program or a referral program to a qualified mental health practitioner. A number of departments have implemented pre-employment psychiatric screening for their new hire employees. Those pre-screening tests look for compatibility of the firefighter in the department and problem areas that may keep the candidate from becoming an employee. The military veteran candidates may be elevated on the PTSD factors and may be unnecessarily screened out from employment. Be especially candid with your testing Psychologist on those issues and what your department is seeking in a qualified candidate.

ADA are three letters that may have major legal implications for your department. Please take the time to understand the law and how it will affect your department in the hiring process and especially when providing an equal opportunity for your returning military veterans.

John K. MurphyJD, MS, PA-C, EFO, Deputy Fire Chief (Ret), has been a member of the career fire service since 1974, beginning his career as a firefighter & paramedic and retiring in 2007 as a Deputy Fire Chief and Chief Training Officer. He is a licensed attorney in Washington State since 2002 and in New York since 2011 and is a licensed Physician’s Assistant in Washington State. Mr. Murphy was a US Navy Corpsman proudly serving with the US Marines in Vietnam. He is a frequent Legal contributor to Fire Engineering Magazine, participant in Fire Service Court Blog Radio, curator of the Fire Engineering Policy Bank and a national speaker on fire service legal issues.

有关此主题的更多信息，请致电206-940-6502或在john@murphylawgroup.org