Interactive Process Strategies: Documenting Essential Job Functions and Descriptions

By Kimberly Mashburn, RN

Absence Management Practice Lead
The Hartford

By Alicia Heine, CRC, CCM

Program Consultant
The Hartford

Meeting with an employee for an annual review is an opportunity to do more than just evaluate performance and set goals. It’s a perfect time to revisit and document essential job functions.

A required data point under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), essential job functions help an employer identify potential accommodations to help an ill or injured employee continue to do that job. Essential job functions also are one of the first things the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) looks for when investigating ADA complaints.

Although the ADA does not require employers to maintain job descriptions, the EEOC reviews them when investigating complaints. If an employer cannot provide job descriptions, the EEOC may use material posted in advertising as evidence of essential functions. Employers can document essential job functions in a variety of ways; discussing directly with employees is a convenient, accurate source for this information.

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