In a medical environment, it is normal for a physician to interview patients about their medical history, family history and social history. While an interviewer may want to know all of these things about a potential employee they should not ask many of these questions directly in an interview.
It is important for physicians involved in the interview process of a potential employee to be aware of the appropriate questions to ask in order to stay out of trouble. Asking the wrong questions, can lead to a discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act ("Title VII"), the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA") or other applicable laws.
"Tell me about yourself" is a good way to start the interview because it puts people at ease. In answering this question, the interviewee usually shares a great deal of personal information that the employer would not be able to ask about directly. Another question that can be asked is, "What do you like to do for fun?"
A lot can be learned about people based on what they say they do on the weekends. While it is appropriate to ask these type of general, open-ended questions, it is also important to ask questions that relate directly to the job. The interviewer should explain the requirements of the job and ask about the interviewee's ability to meet them. For example, "This position may require you to stay until 7:00pm. Is that a problem?" An interviewer can tell an interviewee the required working hours for the job and ask the interviewee if she can work those hours. The interviewer should not ask the interviewee if she will have any attendance problems because she is a single mother. That question could lead to a gender discrimination claim.
Employers are prohibited by the ADA from asking about an applicant's medical history in an interview. Therefore, it is important to have a detailed job description and communicate what are the physical requirements for the job to all applicants for the job. A good job description will let the applicant know what is expected and will help the interviewer ask the right questions. For example, if the job requires the employee to lift patients, the job description should contain the lifting requirements. While the interviewer should not ask an applicant in an interview if she has any medical restrictions, the interviewer can tell the applicant that the job requires heavy lifting and can ask the applicant if she can perform heavy lifting.
For several reasons, it is a best practice to have two people conduct an interview of a potential candidate. When there are two interviewers, one can focus on asking the questions, and the other one can focusing on observing the candidate. After the interview, it can be very helpful for the two interviewers to compare their observations of the candidate and his responses. Interviewing can be very demanding and it helps to have a person to ask follow up questions while the first person finishes documenting their notes. In addition, having two people in the interview would provide a witness if there are allegations of inappropriate questions.
Information about a potential employee can also be gathered through drugs screens, medical examinations or physicals. An employer can ask a candidate if he uses illegal drugs or screen an applicant for use of illegal drugs without violating the ADA, but medical examinations cannot be conducted until after the employer makes the candidate a conditional offer of employment. Because drug screens can raise medical issues, it is safest to wait and perform the drug screen after the conditional offer of employment. If the drug screen reveals that the employee takes a legal drug for a medical condition that may impact his ability to do the job, the employer can address that situation without violating the ADA. It also makes economic sense to only perform screening on candidates that the employer has decided it would like to hire instead of all applicants.
Physician practices should use an independent source to perform drug screening and any pre-employment medical examinations. The physician practice should supply the third party that will conduct the drug screening and medical examination with the job requirements, and then the third party can let the employer know if the person can meet those requirements from a medical standpoint. Practices should not handle their own screenings just to save the expense.
It is also important that if a physician practice has an applicant that has been treated by the practice as a patient, the applicant's medical records should not be reviewed as part of the hiring process. Reviewing an applicant/patient's medical records can violate the ADA and also the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA"). The general rule is that employment history and medical history should be kept separated. Best practice would be to keep their personnel file and their screening information in separate locations.
In conclusion, many times the candidate's resume was selected because they had the qualifications "on paper." While physicians and managers have to be careful during the interview process, it is important to remember that the interview is to not only confirm job skills, but to determine the candidate's fit with the practice.
Lisa Warren is a healthcare consultant with Warren, Averett, Kimbrough & Marino, LLC. She has spent over 15 years working with physician practices on improving the operations and financial performance of their organizations.
Ashley Hattaway is a Partner at Burr & Forman LLP in their labor and employment practice and represents companies in all types of labor and employment matters including litigation and advice. She has worked closely with many healthcare providers on their employment issues, policies and procedures and represented them in disputes.
This article has been summarized from a segment on ResultsMatterRadio recorded on February 18, 2011. To listen to this segment, and the other segments from the series, "Three Quick HR Tips For Physician Practice Groups", please visit www.resultsmatterradio.com. ResultsMatterRadio was developed to bring you pertinent business information, and offer real life solutions, to help drive desired results for you - whatever your business may be.
