Unreasonable Accommodations: Can I Send the Employee to a Doctor of My Choice?

By Gail I. Cohen, Esq.

Director, Employment Law & Compliance
Matrix Absence Management

It is not uncommon for an employee to supply medical certifications that seem to have been dictated by the employee, rather than objective medical findings from a healthcare professional. The ADA allows an employer to send an employee for an ADA-compliant medical exam. This column will summarize what such an exam entails and the circumstances under which an employer may want to pursue one.

In a previous column, I discussed the concept of direct threat. That is, when employees with a disability pose a significant risk of substantial harm to themselves or others. A direct threat assessment must be based on objective, specific, current, and non-speculative information. One example from a recent case involved a schoolteacher who, when told she was being placed on administrative leave so the school could investigate a parent complaint of improper behavior, informed her employer she was having a nervous breakdown and threatened to harm herself. Because the school had current, objective information casting doubt on her ability to function as a schoolteacher, its decision to have her submit to a medical examination with a psychiatrist was approved by a court.

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