{"id":12450,"date":"2014-06-23T23:22:56","date_gmt":"2014-06-24T03:22:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/?p=12450"},"modified":"2021-06-23T07:39:44","modified_gmt":"2021-06-23T07:39:44","slug":"judge-says-fbi-fitness-for-duty-test-is-biased","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/judge-says-fbi-fitness-for-duty-test-is-biased\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge Says FBI Fitness-for-Duty Test is Biased"},"content":{"rendered":"
Fitness-for-duty exams that vary by gender may or may not be discriminatory, according to a federal judge. The judge ruled one exam used by the FBI is discriminatory.<\/p>\n
Jay Bauer, 40, an intelligence analyst for the FBI, applied to become a special agent with the agency.<\/p>\n
Bauer passed an initial fitness test and scored at or near the top of his class during training.<\/p>\n
But when it came to the FBI\u2019s rigorous fitness test, Bauer came up one pushup short. He completed 29 untimed pushups. Men taking the fitness test must do 30 pushups. Women must do 14.<\/p>\n
Bauer sued, claiming the test is biased against men.<\/p>\n
The FBI argued the test wasn\u2019t discriminatory because of the physiological differences between men and women.<\/p>\n
Now a federal judge for the Eastern District of Virginia has ruled in Bauer\u2019s favor<\/a>.<\/p>\n The judge ruled the FBI failed to prove the fitness test was an adequate measure of job skills, such as the ability to restrain a fleeing suspect.<\/p>\n The FBI didn\u2019t\u00a0prove it had a valid basis to discriminate based on gender, according to the judge.<\/p>\n Now Bauer will ask the judge to rule that he should be placed in a special-agent position and be paid lost wages and attorney\u2019s fees.<\/p>\n To avoid legal trouble such as this, companies must match what\u2019s measured in fitness-for-duty exams with actual job functions, according to Howard Sandler, founder of Sandler Occupational Medicine Associates<\/a>, Melville, NY. Sandler spoke recently at the American Industrial Hygiene conference and expo<\/a> in San Antonio, Texas.<\/p>\n Sandler says companies who want to use fitness-for-duty<\/a> exams should have separate ones for different jobs.<\/p>\n Read Full Article At Safetynewsalert.com <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a> A good wellness and fitness program can significantly improve employees’ safety records. View Product<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/a> Covers more advanced guidelines and best practices for safety in a variety of industrial workplaces. View Product<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/a> Employee Wellness: explores the concept of wellness – the state of being at your physical, & more. View Product<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fitness-for-duty exams that vary by gender may or may not be discriminatory, according to a federal judge. The judge ruled one exam used by the FBI is discriminatory. Jay Bauer, 40, an intelligence analyst for the FBI, applied to become a special agent with the agency. Bauer passed an initial fitness test and scored at …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nMatch test to job functions<\/h2>\n
Related Training DVDs:<\/h2>\n
Wellness and Fitness Video or DVD Training Program<\/h3>\n
Safety and Health Advanced Training Video<\/h3>\n
Employee Wellness A Way Of Life Training DVD<\/h3>\n