Pre employment physical for employee
epgerwi
1 Post
We have a temporary employee who has worked for us for three months. Per our union agreement, we now have to either hire her, or let her go. When we sent her for a pre employment physical, it came back with a lifting restriction of no more than 25 lbs. I sent a note to the factory managers informing them of this restriction and was told there is a rumor she is pregnant. My question is, what are my options?
Comments
1. Ignore the rumor that she is pregnant. It is not a legal reason to terminate her employment.
2. Apparently the 25 lbs lifting restriction does not impair her ability to do the job. If that is the case, ignore it. If that is not the case, what has she been doing for the past 90 days at work??? You may have inadvertantly created a new job position at your company or may now have to accomodate if she is disabled. If the 25 lb restriction effects her ability to do the job, I would get an attorney to review the case ASAP.
3. If you want to terminate her, you need a valid legal reason. The expiration of the 90 day period generally would not cause a termination, unless there were some performance issues. I don't see any in your message. Find out whether her performance, attendance, etc, have been satisfactory for the 90 day period. If they have, she should remain employed. If they have not, terminate her.
Bottom line: Treat her just like anyone else without a restriction and without a rumor of pregnancy.
Good Luck!!
>2. Apparently the 25 lbs lifting restriction does not impair her
>ability to do the job. If that is the case, ignore it.
An employee will often ignore restrictions they have been given. It is also common for an employee to have no knowledge of a condition which might nudge a doctor's restriction. In neither case would I 'assume' the doctor's stated restriction can, should or might be ignored simply because she has apparently been doing these functions anyway. Knowingly allowing an employee to violate a specific restriction will land you in more hot water than terminating her will.