The Hiring Process

From the case study, it is evident the airline company was in a hurry to recruit and hire flight attendants. The job offer made by the HRM manager was conditional, and hence it was pegged on the successful completion of not only the background checks but also the medical exams. The urgency with which the employees were required led to the postponement of the background checks but instead it necessitated the medical exams. This is probably because of the sensitive nature of the jobs that were to be undertaken by these applicants. Therefore in my opinion, the court should decide based on the ADA requirements as the primary statute, while the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act as the secondary statute. If this sequence is to be followed then the ruling would be in favor of the airline company because of the following reasons.

First and foremost, ADA mandates that the employment offer should be termed as conditional in order to make tentative decisions appertaining hiring by requiring the potential applicants to take up medical checks (Erling, 2010). The main objective of the exams is the verification of both the mental and physical capability of the applicants. Reflecting the conditions in the immediate context presented by the Airlines Company, the medical exams were performed during the last stages of the hiring process which makes them valid. Secondly, the tests were to be conducted on all the employees in the job category of flight attendants, therefore, no malice was practiced. In reality, the court decided the case in favor of the airline company which seconds my line of thought. This decision was reached upon the consideration that the medical exams were job related and more so consistent with the business necessities since the employers had a reasonable amount of belief that the employee’s performance was directly proportionate to their medical condition. Specifically, HIV victims might be affected by absenteeism as they seek medication. Furthermore, the employment of flight attendants with HIV would pose a threat to the customers because of the personalized services offered by the flight attendants while on board.

References

Erling, D. (2010). Match: A Systematic, Sane Process for Hiring the Right Person Every Time. New York: John Wiley & Sons

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