Fitness for Duty Examinations at Workplace in California

California FEHA (Fair Employment and Housing Act) permits an employer to require a medical or psychological examination of an employee, also known as fitness for duty examination if it can show that the examination is "job related and consistent with business necessity". This is one of the ways that an employer can assess whether an employee can perform his job in a way that wouldn't pose danger to himself or others. Further, if an employee has or may have a disability, a fitness for duty exam may help the employer determine whether that employee needs an accommodation to his disability, and what kind of accommodation can be effective, if the disability and the resulting limitations are not obvious.

A fitness for duty examination is "job related" if it is "tailored to assess the employee's ability to carry out the essential functions of the job or to determine whether the employee poses a danger to himself or others due to his disability. There is a "business necessity" for a fitness for duty examination if "the need for the disability inquiry or medical examination is vital to the business." (Cal. Code Regs., title 2, section 11065(b)). 

For example, in a situation where a professional driver passes out while driving or reports feeling dizzy, the employer will definitely have the right to send that employee to undergo fitness for duty examination in order to determine whether it is safe for him to continue driving, and what, if any, measures can and should be taken to minimize the risk of accident due to that employee's physical condition. 

Generally, unless fitness for duty examination appears to be unreasonably invasive, it is in the employee's best interest to comply and undergo such an examination in order to help the employer to do what is necessary in order to accommodate that employee's disability or medical condition as required by ADA / FEHA or FMLA/CFRA. 

---