Employee Struggling Physically or Acting Strangely? Fitness-For-Duty Exams Are Defensible if You Follow the Legal Standard
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits employers from making disability inquiries or requiring employees to undergo medical examinations unless they show the inquiry or examination to be job-related and consistent with business necessity. In a recent case, Nawara v. Cook County , 132 F. 4th 1031 (7th Cir. 2025), the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit underlined that an illegal inquiry or examination counts as discrimination under the ADA. The court also rejected the employer’s arguments against recovery of lost wages. This warrants a refresher on when employers can legally inquire with their employees about their medical condition and require fitness-for-duty exams. As one court put it, “ An employer is generally allowed to use fitness-for-duty exams to determine whether an employee can safely do the job.” Still, an exam that is n ot job-related and consistent with business necessity violates the ADA . What does “job-related and consistent with business necess...