Eddy’s HR Mavericks Encyclopedia
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Essential Job Function
Identifying essential job functions for each role in your company is, well, essential. It gives you a strong grasp of each job, teaches candidates what the job entails, provides benchmarks for employee evaluation and protects your company from legal claims. Learn how to accurately assess the difference between essential and nonessential job functions to help your business thrive and create a more inclusive working environment.
What Is an Essential Job Function?
An essential job function is a key responsibility of a particular job — the duties that a person holding that job must be able to perform. Essential job functions are used primarily when evaluating the impact of a disability on a person’s ability to perform a job under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A person must be able to perform the essential functions of their job with or without a reasonable accommodation. A person who cannot perform the essential functions of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation is not qualified for that job. Essential job functions are the core elements of any given position. These are job duties that must occur in order for the business unit (and overall business) to function successfully. In short, essential job functions are the reason a given position exists. While an employee may perform “other duties as assigned,” the essential functions of their job are those that would cause harm to the business or organization if they were not performed. Essential functions are not person-specific but position-specific.
The Importance of Knowing Whether a Job Function Is Essential or Not
Essential job functions are critical elements of a number of HR processes, including hiring, compensation, and the accommodations/interactive process. Understanding essential job functions can help you make decisions that protect your company from legal recourse, protects your employees from adverse treatment, and encourage diversity and inclusion within your organization. It gives you a strong understanding of the purpose of each job and helps ensure that you are hiring the best candidates. To ensure compliance with a variety of labor laws and to create a safe and equitable working environment, here are a few things to know about essential job functions:
- Understanding essential functions is the key to correctly classifying and compensating employees. Without knowing the essential functions of a given position, it would be nearly impossible to correctly classify a position within an organization, or to gain accurate compensation data. If we’re not sure what people do or can’t list their job duties, we can’t know if we’re paying them correctly. This can open many cans of worms, including labor violations, equity issues, perceived discrimination and more.
- Essential job junctions help determine which employees are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA prohibits discrimination against and provides equal opportunities for folks with disabilities, and this includes hiring and employment practices. When a candidate or employee comes forward with a disability, they are usually requesting a “reasonable accommodation,” which means they need a specific condition to be able to do their work. This might be as simple as needing a different chair, or it might be more complicated, and businesses are not required to make accommodations that present an “undue hardship” to the business. In order to determine what accommodation might be reasonable, the employer first needs to understand what the essential job functions are for that employee. This can be used pre-hire, to determine if someone will be able to perform all the necessary parts of their job during employment. This means that you, as the employer, will know which employees do and do not qualify for a job. Employers should offer reasonable accommodations to employees who need them to complete the essential functions of their job. If an employee cannot perform the essential functions of their job with or without an accommodation, they are not qualified for the job. See Example 1 below.
- Knowing how to classify the role can protect the company from legal recourse. Employers who fail to offer a reasonable accommodation to an employee who requires one, or employers who disqualify an employee based on a function that is not truly an essential function, are subject to penalties or other courses of action from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which is responsible for enforcing the ADA.
- Essential job functions and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII is the overarching federal legislation we use to ensure we don’t discriminate in employment matters. It covers race, color, national origin, religion and sex. Title VII allows for something known as a “BFOQ” or bona fide occupational qualification. A BFOQ is a particular job requirement that might involve a category protected under Title VII. Using essential job functions, we can determine if something is a BFOQ or potentially discriminatory. See Example 2 below.
- Boost diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging efforts. A diverse workforce has a lot of positive impacts for an organization. Inclusive hiring practices involve hiring those individuals with disabilities who are able to perform the job, in turn boosting diversity and inclusion efforts in your company.
- Provides role clarity. Understanding the essential functions of the job can help an employee build clarity around their purpose within the company. It also provides clarity to their manager and other stakeholders who may be responsible for holding that employee accountable to their performance. Knowing the essential functions allows you to set goals and benchmark the employee’s performance. For example, if an employee’s essential function is answering calls in a call center environment, the employee understands that they must answer calls as they come in, and the manager is able to set goals for having minimal unanswered calls. When the employee's performance is evaluated, those benchmarks inform the discussion.
Essential vs. Non-Essential Job Functions
A function is essential if:
- The job was created to perform that duty. For example, a farrier exists to maintain horses’ hooves and provide shoes if needed.
- There are limited employees who can perform that duty. For example, if a company offers massage therapy and has only two massage therapists, it would require that both massage therapists be able to perform massages to their clients. There is no alternative or other individual who can relieve the employee of those duties because the only other person who is able to do it also has a full book of business.
- Specialization is required to complete the function, and employees are hired because they have that level of specialization. An example of this would be positions that require certification or specific education such as nurses, HVAC specialists, or CPAs. A nurse specifically trained in phlebotomy would likely have the essential function of drawing blood for tests if that’s what they were hired to do. An employee without that training would not be able to relieve that employee of their responsibility.
All other duties are considered non-essential.
How to Know if a Job Function Is “Essential”
It can often be tricky to know if a job function is essential, marginal, or nonessential. Here are some factors to consider when determining which category any job function falls under.
Factor 1: Would This Position Still Exist if It Did Not Perform This Function?
Essential functions are the reason a position exists, and without those functions, the position probably wouldn’t be needed. For example, a payroll manager position exists to manage payroll. If the position no longer managed payroll, we could safely assume that the position would not exist. For existing jobs, review the job description and determine the tasks that form the core reason that job is needed. For new jobs, as you are writing the job description, consider the same: what are the tasks that form the core reason that this job is needed? Ask yourself whether those tasks are the reason why the job exists, and if that function were removed, would the job be fundamentally changed? If the answer is yes, those are likely the essential functions of the job.
Factor 2: Are There Other Employees Who Can or Do Perform This Function?
In some cases, there might only be one or a very limited number of positions that perform a specific duty, or there might be times when only one position can perform it. The fewer employees/positions that can perform that function, the likelier it is that it’s an essential function. Answering a department’s main phone line might or might not be essential to the position of administrative assistant, depending on if there are others who can do it or not. Evaluate the level of skill or expertise required to complete the function. Those that require a high level of specialization are more likely to be considered essential than those that are not. This is because those that do not require a high level of expertise can likely be added to another job or jobs, depending on the tasks and the structure of the organization.
Factor 3: Is the Function Highly Specialized, or Does It Require an Employee to Have Special Skills, Licensure or Certification to Perform It?
If the answer is yes, then it’s more likely that the function is essential. For example, an in-house attorney needs legal licensure in order to perform contract review and sign-off, so this is an essential function. Likewise, someone who operates a forklift must have a special license, and the function can’t be performed by someone who doesn’t have that license.
Factor 4: How Much Time Is Spent Performing the Function, and How Much Weight Does It Carry?
There are functions performed that might not be critical to business needs. That function might be marginal or nonessential. Conversely, there are functions that might be performed once per year but are absolutely critical. That would likely be an essential function. The intersection of frequency and weight are an important determination. A custodian might wash the windows once per month, but if they didn’t, the overall business would not be impacted to a great degree. That function is likely marginal. A finance officer audits the budget every six months to make sure the company is on track financially. Though this only happens twice per year, it is absolutely critical to the business, which makes it essential.
Examples of Essential Job Functions
Below are some examples that might help illustrate and clarify the previous points.
Example 1
An office manager comes to HR and says they’re no longer able to work in their office because their co-workers wear too much perfume and they’re suffering from migraines. They want to work from home from now on. Migraines are a legitimate medical condition, which means this request falls under ADA guidelines. You pull out the job description and see that their job duties include greeting visitors, office supply inventory, meeting with vendors, and performing regular checks of office spaces to ensure OSHA compliance — none of which could be performed from home. There are no other employees who can take on this work, and without it the office will not be able to run smoothly. These are essential functions of this person’s job, and because their preferred accommodation would pose an undue hardship, you do not need to let them work from home. Instead, try to engage them in pursuing other appropriate accommodations.
Example 2
A Catholic school is hiring a new faculty member and a new janitor. In the job ads, they list “adherent of the Catholic faith” under the requirements for hire. In this case, the faculty position requirement could be considered a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) because the central nature of the business is to provide religious-based instruction. However, the requirement for the janitor position is not a BFOQ because the employee’s religious beliefs have no impact on how they perform their job.
Example 3
A museum is hiring a docent and lists “must be able to walk up and downstairs” as an essential function in the job ad. When HR reviews the job ad, that doesn’t seem quite right. Upon investigation, HR learns that there is art on two floors of the museum that the docent is responsible for. Is walking stairs appropriately listed as an essential job function? The answer is no, unless there are no elevators or other ways of moving between floors in the building. In this case, the essential function of the job should be “must be able to move between art on the first and second floors every hour.” Walking is not essential to the job, which could be accomplished via wheelchair or with other assistance. But checking on the art is essential. If there is no elevator between floors, the docent would need to be able to move through all the art in some other way, and if that’s not possible, their disability prevents them from meeting the essential functions of that job.
How to Use Your List of Essential Job Functions
Having an awareness of essential job functions helps with more than avoiding legal issues — it helps you plan ahead and consider the flexibility of each role before hiring. Essential job functions (EJFs) prepare you to:
- Write job descriptions. Essential job functions act as a guide when writing job descriptions or determining whether an individual is qualified for a role.
- Plan for reasonable accommodations. EJFs give you an idea of what accommodations would be reasonable for that function. For example, employees who are hard of hearing may require accessibility tools to perform an essential function of a job that requires them to answer a phone. There also may be accommodations you can provide at a relatively low cost. For example, an employee may experience light sensitivity that prohibits them from being able to sit at their assigned desk. There are items you can purchase to correct or minimize this issue.
- Consider the management of non-essential functions. Many job descriptions include both essential and non-essential functions. Non-essential tasks are most likely marginal and not imminent to the success of the role, but they are tasks that generally need to be completed. If you hire an employee who is able to complete the essential but not the non-essential functions of the job, you need to determine the best way to ensure that those non-essential tasks are completed. You likely have other employees that have the capacity to take on marginal duties such as filing, office housekeeping and maintenance, or lifting of heavier items.
Topics
Tammi Burnett
Tammi has 8+ years of progressive HR experience in a variety of industries and settings, including nonprofit and higher education. She believes that doing HR well means being a true partner and collaborator with every part of an organization, and by saying "yes" to creative problem solving wherever and whenever possible (and legal). Her favorite work includes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB); the how and why of hiring and retaining great people; helping to sustain an organizational culture of trust, empathy, and candor; and anything else that prompts employees to say they love where they work. In her free time, you can find her wandering outdoors, studying clinical herbalism, tinkering in the kitchen, dismantling the patriarchy and white supremacy, and hanging out with her cat, Emily Dickinson.
Colleen E. Frislid, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
Colleen manages a team of HR consultants that work with a variety of industries, specializing in the fields of human resources, strategic planning, and human capital management. Colleen applies expert knowledge, industry experience, and relentless energy to solving companies’ issues. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management as well as women in leadership groups. She is PHR, SPHR, and SHRM-SCP certified. She has an awesome pet cat, Attila and, when she's not working she loves to travel, enjoy the great outdoors, and volunteer with different local charities.
Frequently asked questions
Other Related Terms
Eddy’s HR Mavericks Encyclopedia
Essential Job Function
Identifying essential job functions for each role in your company is, well, essential. It gives you a strong grasp of each job, teaches candidates what the job entails, provides benchmarks for employee evaluation and protects your company from legal claims. Learn how to accurately assess the difference between essential and nonessential job functions to help your business thrive and create a more inclusive working environment.
What Is an Essential Job Function?
An essential job function is a key responsibility of a particular job — the duties that a person holding that job must be able to perform. Essential job functions are used primarily when evaluating the impact of a disability on a person’s ability to perform a job under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A person must be able to perform the essential functions of their job with or without a reasonable accommodation. A person who cannot perform the essential functions of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation is not qualified for that job. Essential job functions are the core elements of any given position. These are job duties that must occur in order for the business unit (and overall business) to function successfully. In short, essential job functions are the reason a given position exists. While an employee may perform “other duties as assigned,” the essential functions of their job are those that would cause harm to the business or organization if they were not performed. Essential functions are not person-specific but position-specific.
The Importance of Knowing Whether a Job Function Is Essential or Not
Essential job functions are critical elements of a number of HR processes, including hiring, compensation, and the accommodations/interactive process. Understanding essential job functions can help you make decisions that protect your company from legal recourse, protects your employees from adverse treatment, and encourage diversity and inclusion within your organization. It gives you a strong understanding of the purpose of each job and helps ensure that you are hiring the best candidates. To ensure compliance with a variety of labor laws and to create a safe and equitable working environment, here are a few things to know about essential job functions:
- Understanding essential functions is the key to correctly classifying and compensating employees. Without knowing the essential functions of a given position, it would be nearly impossible to correctly classify a position within an organization, or to gain accurate compensation data. If we’re not sure what people do or can’t list their job duties, we can’t know if we’re paying them correctly. This can open many cans of worms, including labor violations, equity issues, perceived discrimination and more.
- Essential job junctions help determine which employees are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA prohibits discrimination against and provides equal opportunities for folks with disabilities, and this includes hiring and employment practices. When a candidate or employee comes forward with a disability, they are usually requesting a “reasonable accommodation,” which means they need a specific condition to be able to do their work. This might be as simple as needing a different chair, or it might be more complicated, and businesses are not required to make accommodations that present an “undue hardship” to the business. In order to determine what accommodation might be reasonable, the employer first needs to understand what the essential job functions are for that employee. This can be used pre-hire, to determine if someone will be able to perform all the necessary parts of their job during employment. This means that you, as the employer, will know which employees do and do not qualify for a job. Employers should offer reasonable accommodations to employees who need them to complete the essential functions of their job. If an employee cannot perform the essential functions of their job with or without an accommodation, they are not qualified for the job. See Example 1 below.
- Knowing how to classify the role can protect the company from legal recourse. Employers who fail to offer a reasonable accommodation to an employee who requires one, or employers who disqualify an employee based on a function that is not truly an essential function, are subject to penalties or other courses of action from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which is responsible for enforcing the ADA.
- Essential job functions and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII is the overarching federal legislation we use to ensure we don’t discriminate in employment matters. It covers race, color, national origin, religion and sex. Title VII allows for something known as a “BFOQ” or bona fide occupational qualification. A BFOQ is a particular job requirement that might involve a category protected under Title VII. Using essential job functions, we can determine if something is a BFOQ or potentially discriminatory. See Example 2 below.
- Boost diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging efforts. A diverse workforce has a lot of positive impacts for an organization. Inclusive hiring practices involve hiring those individuals with disabilities who are able to perform the job, in turn boosting diversity and inclusion efforts in your company.
- Provides role clarity. Understanding the essential functions of the job can help an employee build clarity around their purpose within the company. It also provides clarity to their manager and other stakeholders who may be responsible for holding that employee accountable to their performance. Knowing the essential functions allows you to set goals and benchmark the employee’s performance. For example, if an employee’s essential function is answering calls in a call center environment, the employee understands that they must answer calls as they come in, and the manager is able to set goals for having minimal unanswered calls. When the employee's performance is evaluated, those benchmarks inform the discussion.
Essential vs. Non-Essential Job Functions
A function is essential if:
- The job was created to perform that duty. For example, a farrier exists to maintain horses’ hooves and provide shoes if needed.
- There are limited employees who can perform that duty. For example, if a company offers massage therapy and has only two massage therapists, it would require that both massage therapists be able to perform massages to their clients. There is no alternative or other individual who can relieve the employee of those duties because the only other person who is able to do it also has a full book of business.
- Specialization is required to complete the function, and employees are hired because they have that level of specialization. An example of this would be positions that require certification or specific education such as nurses, HVAC specialists, or CPAs. A nurse specifically trained in phlebotomy would likely have the essential function of drawing blood for tests if that’s what they were hired to do. An employee without that training would not be able to relieve that employee of their responsibility.
All other duties are considered non-essential.
How to Know if a Job Function Is “Essential”
It can often be tricky to know if a job function is essential, marginal, or nonessential. Here are some factors to consider when determining which category any job function falls under.
Factor 1: Would This Position Still Exist if It Did Not Perform This Function?
Essential functions are the reason a position exists, and without those functions, the position probably wouldn’t be needed. For example, a payroll manager position exists to manage payroll. If the position no longer managed payroll, we could safely assume that the position would not exist. For existing jobs, review the job description and determine the tasks that form the core reason that job is needed. For new jobs, as you are writing the job description, consider the same: what are the tasks that form the core reason that this job is needed? Ask yourself whether those tasks are the reason why the job exists, and if that function were removed, would the job be fundamentally changed? If the answer is yes, those are likely the essential functions of the job.
Factor 2: Are There Other Employees Who Can or Do Perform This Function?
In some cases, there might only be one or a very limited number of positions that perform a specific duty, or there might be times when only one position can perform it. The fewer employees/positions that can perform that function, the likelier it is that it’s an essential function. Answering a department’s main phone line might or might not be essential to the position of administrative assistant, depending on if there are others who can do it or not. Evaluate the level of skill or expertise required to complete the function. Those that require a high level of specialization are more likely to be considered essential than those that are not. This is because those that do not require a high level of expertise can likely be added to another job or jobs, depending on the tasks and the structure of the organization.
Factor 3: Is the Function Highly Specialized, or Does It Require an Employee to Have Special Skills, Licensure or Certification to Perform It?
If the answer is yes, then it’s more likely that the function is essential. For example, an in-house attorney needs legal licensure in order to perform contract review and sign-off, so this is an essential function. Likewise, someone who operates a forklift must have a special license, and the function can’t be performed by someone who doesn’t have that license.
Factor 4: How Much Time Is Spent Performing the Function, and How Much Weight Does It Carry?
There are functions performed that might not be critical to business needs. That function might be marginal or nonessential. Conversely, there are functions that might be performed once per year but are absolutely critical. That would likely be an essential function. The intersection of frequency and weight are an important determination. A custodian might wash the windows once per month, but if they didn’t, the overall business would not be impacted to a great degree. That function is likely marginal. A finance officer audits the budget every six months to make sure the company is on track financially. Though this only happens twice per year, it is absolutely critical to the business, which makes it essential.
Examples of Essential Job Functions
Below are some examples that might help illustrate and clarify the previous points.
Example 1
An office manager comes to HR and says they’re no longer able to work in their office because their co-workers wear too much perfume and they’re suffering from migraines. They want to work from home from now on. Migraines are a legitimate medical condition, which means this request falls under ADA guidelines. You pull out the job description and see that their job duties include greeting visitors, office supply inventory, meeting with vendors, and performing regular checks of office spaces to ensure OSHA compliance — none of which could be performed from home. There are no other employees who can take on this work, and without it the office will not be able to run smoothly. These are essential functions of this person’s job, and because their preferred accommodation would pose an undue hardship, you do not need to let them work from home. Instead, try to engage them in pursuing other appropriate accommodations.
Example 2
A Catholic school is hiring a new faculty member and a new janitor. In the job ads, they list “adherent of the Catholic faith” under the requirements for hire. In this case, the faculty position requirement could be considered a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) because the central nature of the business is to provide religious-based instruction. However, the requirement for the janitor position is not a BFOQ because the employee’s religious beliefs have no impact on how they perform their job.
Example 3
A museum is hiring a docent and lists “must be able to walk up and downstairs” as an essential function in the job ad. When HR reviews the job ad, that doesn’t seem quite right. Upon investigation, HR learns that there is art on two floors of the museum that the docent is responsible for. Is walking stairs appropriately listed as an essential job function? The answer is no, unless there are no elevators or other ways of moving between floors in the building. In this case, the essential function of the job should be “must be able to move between art on the first and second floors every hour.” Walking is not essential to the job, which could be accomplished via wheelchair or with other assistance. But checking on the art is essential. If there is no elevator between floors, the docent would need to be able to move through all the art in some other way, and if that’s not possible, their disability prevents them from meeting the essential functions of that job.
How to Use Your List of Essential Job Functions
Having an awareness of essential job functions helps with more than avoiding legal issues — it helps you plan ahead and consider the flexibility of each role before hiring. Essential job functions (EJFs) prepare you to:
- Write job descriptions. Essential job functions act as a guide when writing job descriptions or determining whether an individual is qualified for a role.
- Plan for reasonable accommodations. EJFs give you an idea of what accommodations would be reasonable for that function. For example, employees who are hard of hearing may require accessibility tools to perform an essential function of a job that requires them to answer a phone. There also may be accommodations you can provide at a relatively low cost. For example, an employee may experience light sensitivity that prohibits them from being able to sit at their assigned desk. There are items you can purchase to correct or minimize this issue.
- Consider the management of non-essential functions. Many job descriptions include both essential and non-essential functions. Non-essential tasks are most likely marginal and not imminent to the success of the role, but they are tasks that generally need to be completed. If you hire an employee who is able to complete the essential but not the non-essential functions of the job, you need to determine the best way to ensure that those non-essential tasks are completed. You likely have other employees that have the capacity to take on marginal duties such as filing, office housekeeping and maintenance, or lifting of heavier items.
Topics
Tammi Burnett
Tammi has 8+ years of progressive HR experience in a variety of industries and settings, including nonprofit and higher education. She believes that doing HR well means being a true partner and collaborator with every part of an organization, and by saying "yes" to creative problem solving wherever and whenever possible (and legal). Her favorite work includes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB); the how and why of hiring and retaining great people; helping to sustain an organizational culture of trust, empathy, and candor; and anything else that prompts employees to say they love where they work. In her free time, you can find her wandering outdoors, studying clinical herbalism, tinkering in the kitchen, dismantling the patriarchy and white supremacy, and hanging out with her cat, Emily Dickinson.
Colleen E. Frislid, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
Colleen manages a team of HR consultants that work with a variety of industries, specializing in the fields of human resources, strategic planning, and human capital management. Colleen applies expert knowledge, industry experience, and relentless energy to solving companies’ issues. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management as well as women in leadership groups. She is PHR, SPHR, and SHRM-SCP certified. She has an awesome pet cat, Attila and, when she's not working she loves to travel, enjoy the great outdoors, and volunteer with different local charities.
Frequently asked questions
Other Related Terms
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