Meat+Poultry - June 2021 - 90

LABOR
Job duty details matter
Choosing not to develop job
descriptions fails to recognize how
critical they can be to numerous
operational and legal workplace issues.
Accurate and up-to-date job
descriptions are implicated even
before the employment relationship
begins, at the hiring stage. A wellwritten
job description should guide
the employer in crafting effective
interview questions. Additionally,
for applicants with a disability, the
" essential functions, " which are the
most fundamental part of an effective
job description, should serve as
the objective criteria to determine
if the applicant can be reasonably
accommodated in the position, as
required under the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA), or if the
employer can decline to hire the
applicant on the basis of such a
disability. An employer can decline
to hire an applicant who cannot
perform the " essential functions "
when no reasonable accommodation
is available, as that applicant is not
qualified for the job under the ADA.
An employer is not required to employ
a current employee if the employee
cannot fulfill the essential functions.
Job descriptions supply the list of
objective criteria for a wide variety
of decisions made in the workplace.
Performance evaluations should
measure how effectively an employee
completes the duties outlined in the job
description including essential duties.
The typical job description has
four primary areas of focus: 1) A brief
description or overview of the job;
2) A list of the job requirements such
as skills needed, level of experience,
educational requirements, and similar
information; 3) A list of the essential
functions or core duties of the position;
and 4) Job-related information such
as hours of work required, physical
requirements, and general working
conditions (such as hot/cold work
environment and indoors/outdoors or
required travel).
In addition, well-written job
descriptions serve as the primary
justification an employer can rely
on when classifying an employee as
exempt from overtime pay under one
of the " white collar " exemptions under
the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The FLSA provides for overtime
pay exemptions for " executive, "
" administrative, " " professional, "
" computer professional, " and " outside
sales " employees. The job description
outlining such employees' job duties
is the first line of defense when
this exempt status is challenged to
demonstrate that these employees
perform the duties required under
the FLSA.
The " essential functions " element
of any job description sets out the
core of the job. Sometimes overlooked
in listing the essential functions is
the ability to work more than 40
hours per week. In addition, most
courts have agreed with employers
that included " regular attendance "
or some similar requirement in the
essential functions of the job. However,
it should be noted that the Equal
Opportunity Commission, tasked with
enforcing the ADA, takes the opposite
position on regular attendance as an
essential function.
One additional factor to consider
including in the essential functions is a
description of the safety requirements
applicable to the job. For example,
circumstances can arise where an
employee's disability prevents him or
her from safely performing job duties.
In one recent case, the federal Fourth
Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that
the ADA provided no protection to an
employee, who because of a disability,
was unable to comply with a job safety
requirement that all employees wear
steel-toed shoes. The court ruled that
the employee was not a " qualified
individual " because she was unable to
comply with a valid safety requirement.
This case underscores the need to have
current and inclusive job descriptions
with a thorough discussion of the
essential functions, including valid
safety requirements necessary to
perform the job safely.
RICHARD D. ALANIZ | meatpoult r y@sos land.com
Job descriptions supply the list of objective
criteria for a wide variety of decisions made
in the workplace.
90 MEAT+POULTRY | 06.21 | www.meatpoultry.com
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Meat+Poultry - June 2021

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