Q : May an employer require applicants to undergo a physical examination?
A : Generally speaking, no. The ADA prohibits employers from requiring pre-employment physical examinations. After offering an applicant a job, however, an employer may require the applicant to successfully undergo a physical exam under certain conditions:

1. All employees must be required to take a physical exam;
2. Information obtained from the exam must be maintained in a separate medical file and kept confidential;
3. The employer cannot use the information to discriminate against the employee because of a disability.

Q : May an employer use a lie detector to find out if a job applicant or an employee is honest?
A : The Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) prohibits employers from requiring employees or applicants to take a polygraph test. This federal law covers all private sector employers with at least two employees engaged in interstate commerce activities and an annual volume of business of at least $500,000. It does not apply to any public sector employer. The statute provides an exception to the use of a polygraph in two situations. An employer is allowed to use a polygraph in connection with an ongoing investigation into theft. Employers engaged in providing security services can administer a polygraph to certain applicants as can employers engaged in the manufacture of controlled substances.

Most states also have state laws that either prohibit or regulate the use of polygraph tests in employment. A few states, such as Massachusetts and Minnesota, prohibit all tests and devices purporting to determine honesty.

Q : May an employer use other types of tests (such as a skills test or an intelligence test) to screen applicants?
A : Yes, but it should be job-related. A test may have an illegal discriminatory result on a protected class, even if it seems fair. This may cause an employer to deny jobs to an unusually high number of minorities. For example, a test of English language skills might disqualify an unusual number of persons for whom English is a "second language." Unless the job requires English, the test may be illegal.