Demonstration As A Method Of Inquiry

An employer may describe or demonstrate a particular job function and inquire whether the applicant can perform the function with or without an accommodation. Thus, an employer may explain that a job requires assembling small parts and ask if the applicant will be able to perform this function. Similarly, in determining whether a job applicant is qualified for a warehouse position that involves lifting materials weighing 100 pounds, an employer may ask, ''Can you lift 100 pounds without trouble?'' The employer, however, may not ask whether the applicant has a bad back or a history of back problems. If an applicant has a disability known to the employer--for example, the applicant is in a wheelchair--the EEOC has advised that the employer ''may ask how [the person] can perform job functions the employer may consider difficult or impossible [for the person] to perform.''