Personality Tests and The ADA: A Risky Business

Originally published July 14, 2005

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states that covered employers "shall not conduct a medical examination or make inquiries of a job applicant as to whether such applicant is an individual with a disability or as to the nature or severity of such disability." 42 U.S.C. § 12112(d)(2). The Act specifically prohibits the use of pre-employment medical tests, prohibits the use of medical tests generally unless they are job-related and consistent with business necessity, and prohibits tests that tend to screen out disabled individuals.

Employers often use personality tests to determine whether job applicants have the traits desired of employees in certain positions. The difficulty under the ADA is determining whether such personality tests truly assess an applicant’s ability to succeed in the position or whether the personality test actually is a medical exam and, as such, prohibited by the ADA. Personality tests which are more akin to