Administering the MMPI to Prospective Employees Violates the ADA

Karraker v. Rent-A­ Center, Inc., 411 F.3d 831 (7th Cir. 2005)

Concerned that individuals with disabilities often face barriers to joining the workforce based on unfounded stereotypes and prejudice, Congress in enacting the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) limited the ability of employers to use "medical examinations" as a condition of employment. The ADA prohibits the use of pre-employment medical tests, the use of medical tests for existing employees that lack job-relatedness and business necessity, and the use of medical tests that screen out (or tend to screen out) people with disabilities.  An Illinois employer asked prospective employees 502 questions from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) as part of a battery of tests.  The employer claimed that the MMPI simply measured potentially relevant personality traits and thus was not a prohibited medical exam...

Found in DMHL Volume 25 Issue 1