EEOC to Employers: Requiring H.S. Diploma May Violate Disabilities Act

On December 2nd the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission posted an Informal Discussion Letter on their website warning employers that using a high school diploma as a selection criteria might put them into conflict with the ADA. Automatically screening out job applicants without a high school diploma discriminates against people with disabilities which have prevented them from finishing high school, whether or not they are capable of performing the essential tasks of the job in question. Employers must ensure that a high school diploma is a "job related" criteria, and that it accurately measures the applicants ability to perform the job. The letter reads:

"If an employer adopts a high school diploma requirement for a job, and that requirement "screens out" an individual who is unable to graduate because of a learning disability that meets the ADA’s definition of "disability," the employer may not apply the standard unless it can demonstrate that the diploma requirement is job related and consistent with business necessity. The employer will not be able to make this showing, for example, if the functions in question can easily be performed by someone who does not have a diploma."

Even if a high school diploma is "job related," employers must also take into consideration whether or not a specific applicant without a diploma could perform the essential tasks of the job if given "reasonable accommodations" for their disability.

The informal letter has gotten the attention of Employment-Law Professionals who are concerned that it could cause an increase in EEOP claims against employers.

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