Standardizing Pre-Placement Physical Exams to Reduce OSHA Recordability

With an aging workforce, many with limited retirement options, it is natural to see an increase in chronic, age-related, and non-occupational illnesses and injuries. This is turn has the potential of employers taking responsibility for non-work related issues that could have been detected and avoided if the proper gate checks were in place.

It is therefore important to recognize the available options for pre-placement/post-offer health screenings that include functional capacity testing. Identifying pre-existing disease and injury is key to avoiding potential on-the-job injuries, chronic injuries that present themselves on the job, and undiagnosed chronic medical diseases. How many times have we witnessed an employee routinely walking at work, says he/she has knee pain with no specific injury, but now has a meniscal tear? Or the employee that has a rotator cuff tear but wasn't doing anything at work that could have caused this?

In essence, a basic drug test and heart/lung may not, and is often not an accurate way to determine an employee's complete fitness for duty. A thorough examination utilizing the best methods available to reproduce the job demands required is needed to fully determine fitness-for duty.

In this discussion, we will examine the most recent statistics in occupational fatality, injury and illness. We will also look into the current standards in post-offer examinations and illustrate options that are available to reduce the injury and fatality statistics.