Pre-Offer Stage
During the Pre-Offer stage, you may ask about an applicant's ability to perform specific job functions. For example, you may state the physical requirements of a job or training program (such as the ability to lift a certain amount of weight, or the ability to climb ladders), and ask if an applicant can satisfy these requirements. You may also ask applicants to describe or demonstrate how they would perform particular tasks, if the same questions are asked of all applicants.
You must not, however, ask an applicant whether s/he will need reasonable accommodations to perform the essential functions of the job or training, except under the following limited circumstances:
- the applicant has an obvious disability, and you reasonably believe that the applicant will need reasonable accommodation because of that obvious disability;
- the applicant has voluntarily disclosed to you that s/he has a hidden disability, and you reasonably believe that the applicant will need reasonable accommodation because of that hidden disability; or
- the applicant has voluntarily disclosed to you that s/he needs reasonable accommodation to perform the job or participate in the training.
In these limited circumstances, although you may ask questions about the accommodations the applicant will need, you may not ask questions about the underlying medical condition. You must keep confidential all medical or disability-related information that is disclosed to you. This information must be stored separately from any other information about the applicant, and access to the information must be limited as discussed later in this lesson.
