Some workers claim their employers make them jump through hoops before they can get a job. But for some, the reference to jumping through hoops may not be too much of an exaggeration. To help lower the rising price of workers’ compensation costs in the state, some companies are requiring prospective employees to pass rigorous physical and endurance tests as a condition of employment for even the most sedentary jobs. Advantage Physical Therapy in Ventura has been performing pre-employment physical tests for companies in the San Fernando Valley and Ventura and Santa Barbara counties for 12 years. About 150 regional and 50 national companies utilize the Ventura testing service. As with drug tests and background checks, an employer reserves the right to refuse to hire a prospective employee if he or she fails any part of the tests. The tests, which are designed individually to fit the person’s job duties, include a musculoskeletal exam with a physical therapist, a flexibility test, weight lifting and aerobic strength testing. Some employees are given carpal tunnel tests as well. “The purpose of this is not to create some kind of Orwellian state but to create a safe and well work environment,” said Val Whalin, general manager of Advantage. The tests, she said, provide an employer with an objective way of knowing whether a prospective employee is physically capable of performing their duties. “When the person comes in to take the assessment, they haven’t yet been hired,” she said. “They’ve been made a post-offer for pre-employment based on successful completion of the assessment.” Contrary to what some people might think, these tests are perfectly legal in California, said Sue Bendavid-Arbiv, an attorney with Lewitt, Hackman, Shapiro, Marshall & Harlan in Encino. According to the Americans With Disabilities Act and California law, it’s illegal to discriminate against prospective employees who have disabilities, and employers who hire disabled workers must make reasonable accommodations for them. However, if a prospective employee doesn’t have a disability but fails the physical tests due to a prior injury or lack of physical strength, the employer can choose whether or not to make accommodations for the employee if they still decide to hire them, Bendavid-Arbiv said. Legally, however, an employer can’t perform the tests prior to an employment offer. If employers still choose to hire someone with a documented prior injury and that person files a workers comp claim at a later date because their working environment exacerbated their condition, the company would only be liable for a percentage of the claim, Whalin said. Advantage Physical Therapy implemented the testing practice based on a program started by a physical therapist in Texas. Five hundred providers nationwide utilize the program, Whalin said. Whalin said Advantage’s client base has increased by 150 percent over the past three and one-half years “It’s more important for a smaller company because one claim could wipe you out.” According to Whalin, 70 percent of all workers comp claims come from the 7 percent to 10 percent of workers who aren’t physically capable of doing their jobs. According to Whalin, the Madera Unified School District in Riverside County, which utilizes Advantage’s pre-testing program, said that its number of reportable workers comp claims was reduced from 112 to 64 during the 2002-03 school year. Ken Harter, owner of Classic Limousine Service, which operates under the umbrella company Harter Transportation Services in Thousand Oaks, has been testing his employees at Advantage for about 18 months. “I want to make sure they are capable of sitting behind a wheel for eight hours and can help people with their luggage,” he said. Subsequently, he hasn’t hired about 5 percent of prospective drivers because they failed the test. Since he implemented the program, Harter said his workers comp claims have decreased by 67 percent. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that his employees who undergo the testing will be any more enthusiastic about the process. Thousand Oaks resident Robert Piccirelli, who has been a driver at the limousine company for five months, said he was shocked when he was asked to lift weights, perform step aerobics and balance on a beam with his hands held behind his back at the Advantage testing site. In the past, the only physical requirement he had to meet to get a job was passing a drug test. “First of all, I thought it was ridiculous,” he said. “I was shocked. I never dreamed I would go through that to drive a car. But I passed it really good.” After working as a driver and lifting heavy luggage, Piccirelli said he now understands why the tests are conducted. “There’s a lot of liability involved in this stuff,” he said.
