March 8, 2018
Preventive Measures: Pre-Employment and Post-Offer Testing to Help Reduce Injuries in the Workplace
Presented by
Jerry Hanke, OTR, CEAS
WorkSTEPS Corporate Training Director
Interviewing and reading through an applicant’s resume might be an outdated way of screening your potential employees. Recent research shows that 78% of resumes have misleading or false information about the applicant and there is no way to determine if the potential employee is capable to perform a job safely. This trend has created the need for companies to perform pre-employment, post-offer functional testing that can help employers gather accurate data as to whether the candidate can safely perform the essential functions of the position he or she has been offered. This test is administered after an official offer of employment has been made, but before the candidate officially begins work in the capacity of his or her new position. A Pre-
Employment Post-Offer test may include the following components:
§ Medical history review with a clinician
§ A series of comprehensive medical measurements
§ Strength measures
§ Dynamic lifting and progressive lifting sequence
§ Cardiovascular measures
§ Essential job functions testing demonstrating the capability to safely perform the essential functions of his or her job.
The information gathered through the post offer employment testing will document and quantify pre-existing conditions and cumulative traumas, and is invaluable when used as a baseline for comparison should there ever be an injury and/or rehabilitation necessary.
Attendees will learn about a critical employer need – to create a medically safe, legally compliant, scientific and objective means of matching a worker’s functional capabilities with the essential functions of the job to reduce and prevent workplace injuries. The presenter will also discuss the EEOC’s employment testing guidelines and distinguish between the stages of functional testing. Finally, the presentation will cover the importance of a thorough job analysis and correct and precise job descriptions.
About the presenter:
Jerry Hanke joined WorkSTEPS in September, 2013, as Corporate Training Director. He has 20 years experience in the fitness and health care industry, and has been specializing in industrial rehabilitation for the past 13 years. Jerry graduated from Angelo State University with a BS in Kinesiology in 1995, and then earned his Occupational Therapy Degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio in 2000. His expertise and area of interest since graduation has been in industrial rehabilitation. Jerry is an expert in the performance of functional capacity evaluations, job assessments, employment testing, and ergonomic consulting. He is also a Certified Ergonomics Assessment Specialist. In his free time Jerry enjoys recreational and competitive cycling.
