Pre-employment inquiries: drug testing, alcohol screening, physical exams, honesty testing, genetics screening--do they discriminate? An empirical study.

How do employers decide who to hire for their workplace? Are there tests that are administered to screen out those job applicants that do not fit the employer's for good, honest, hard-working, never-complaining workers? Do employers use screening devices to discriminate against persons with disabilities? What kinds of screening tests do employers use to assist in hiring workers for their company? Fifty-four of the Fortune 500 companies from across the country were surveyed to elicit their opinions on these and other questions relating to pre-employment inquiries. The responses of these companies are tabulated and discussed and serve as a backdrop in this Article which analyzes pre-employment screening practices. Also, a look into the not too distant future where honesty and integrity testing are on the rise and genetics testing of job applicants is heading into the employment arena. Court cases in the area of pre-employment inquiries are analyzed and federal statutes are reviewed and discussed to demonstrate the prevalence of certain forms of employment tests being administered.The U.S. Census Bureau reported in 1988 that 13,415,000 people had a work disability, comprising 8.6% of the 16 to 64 year old population. The number of disabled persons participating in the labor force was 31.6%, however, only 18.2% of the 13.4 million people with a work disability were employed full time. The unemployment rate for those persons with a work disability was much greater than for those with no work disability, 14.2% as compared to 5.8%. Persons with a work disability earned less than half the income of those persons with no disability, $6,319 median annual income as compared to $14,354 of those persons with no work disability.These statistics serve as a reminder that many disabled people continue to face obstacles in gaining access into the employment arena. This Article will reveal how disabled persons are at greater risk when employers increase their screening and testing arsenal in the job selection area.