Medical Certification, Examination, and Inoculation

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[The following was approved on May 23, 1996, in accordance with provisions set forth in SIU Board of Trustees 2 Policies C.]

  1. All medical examination procedures and inquiries required by the university will be conducted in accordance with the guidelines established by the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
  2. All confidential medical information about an individual will be handled in compliance with legal requirements and professional ethical standards.
  3. The employing department will bear the cost of any physical examination required by the university or for any inoculation required by state or federal regulation to be offered to an employee. Employees will endure no loss of compensation due to absence from work for such examinations or inoculations administered during regularly scheduled work hours.
  4. Standard medical examination forms to be completed by an examining physician must be reviewed and approved by University General Counsel and the Director of Human Resources before adoption by the university.
  5. The university may require medical examination or certification
    1. for new employees in designated job categories or employees in designated job categories returning from a layoff or non-medical leave of absence. In the case of new employees, the examination will not be required until after a conditional offer of employment has been made;
    2. for continuing employees in designated job categories on a periodic basis, as required by state or federal regulation.
    3. All employees in a designated job category will be subject to the same requirement. The exam will be limited to an evaluation of the candidate's ability to meet the minimum physical requirements necessary to perform the essential functions of the position.
  6. The university may require fitness-for-duty examinations and certifications:
    1. to support any illness or injury claimed by the employee when there is the appearance of misuse of sick leave;
    2. to determine whether the employee poses a direct threat, as defined by the Americans with Disability Act, to personal safety or to the safety of others in the workplace;
    3. to verify the employee's ability to perform the essential functions of the position when returning to work after illness or injury following release by the employee's own physician;
    4. to verify the employee's ability to perform the essential functions of the position when the employee's job performance has deteriorated and such deterioration may be the result of a medical condition.
    5. Before ordering an examination in any of the above circumstances, the employing department must justify and document the need for the examination in consultation with Human Resources. Human Resources will make such determinations on a case-by-case basis, with guidance from University General Counsel, as required.
  7. Where required by state or federal regulation, the university will make inoculations available to employees in designated job categories. If the employee declines the inoculation, the employee will be required to sign a waiver acknowledging the risks of not obtaining the immunization.
  8. An employing department may require an employee to obtain a medical release to return to work after any injury or illness-related absence. A release must be provided to Human Resources, or to the employing department with a copy to Human Resources, whenever an employee returns to work following extended sick leave, family/medical leave for personal illness, SURS disability leave, Workers' Compensation leave, or personal leave for medical reasons. If the release indicates anything other than an unconditional release to work, Human Resources must be consulted before the employee may return to work.
  9. In the event that an employee disagrees with the results of an examination conducted by a physician designated by the university, the employee shall have the right to obtain an additional medical opinion at his/her own expense.
  10. If there is a difference of medical opinion between an employee's physician and a physician designated by the university, a third outside physician will be selected by the two physicians. The cost of this examination will be the responsibility of the employing department. The opinion of the third physician will prevail.