Essential Job Functions According to the ADA
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Ensure your organization’s job descriptions are compliant, accurate, and aligned with ADA and EEOC requirements by attending this insightful webinar focused on documenting job functions with clarity and precision. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how to identify and define essential and marginal job functions, why these distinctions matter, and how they impact employee performance expectations, workplace accommodations, and overall compliance. This training is designed to help employers create legally sound job descriptions that support both operational success and an inclusive workplace culture.
Through expert guidance and practical instruction, attendees will learn how to conduct effective job analyses and determine essential job functions using proven tools and techniques. Real-world case studies and best practices will provide valuable insight into applying these concepts across a variety of roles and industries. Whether you are updating existing job descriptions or developing new ones, this webinar will equip you with actionable strategies to reduce legal risk, improve documentation practices, and strengthen your organization’s ability to support employees and applicants fairly and effectively.
Areas Covered During Training:- Review employer responsibilities under the ADA and EEOC, focusing on key compliance requirements and workplace obligations.
- Define and distinguish between essential and marginal job functions with practical examples.
- Understand the importance of accurately documenting job functions within job descriptions.
- Learn how to conduct a comprehensive job analysis to identify essential and marginal functions.
- Explore who is responsible for defining essential job functions and the criteria used in the determination process.
- Gain insights from real-world examples, case studies, and best practices for compliant documentation.
- Learn practical methods to identify and document essential and marginal job functions accurately.
- Strengthen ADA and EEOC compliance efforts through clear, well-structured job descriptions.
- Gain tools and techniques to conduct effective job analyses and support workplace accommodations.
- Improve communication of performance expectations for employees and applicants.
- Reduce legal and compliance risks associated with incomplete or inaccurate job documentation.
- Build confidence in creating inclusive workplace practices that support organizational success.
Attending this webinar will provide you with actionable knowledge you can immediately apply within your organization. By improving the accuracy and compliance of your job descriptions, you’ll be better prepared to support employees, guide leaders, and foster a more inclusive and legally compliant workplace environment.
Who Should Attend:- HR Professionals at All Levels
- Leaders, Managers, and Supervisors
- Small and Medium-Sized Business Owners
- Team Leads and Project Managers
- Diversity and Inclusion Officers
- Legal and Compliance Professionals
- Training and Development Coordinators
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Melveen Stevenson
Hi! I’m Melveen Stevenson and I’m the CEO and founder of M.S.Elemental, LLC, a human resources and business advisory firm based in Los Angeles, California.As a certified HR professional with a background in accounting and finance, I help companies to navigate the human resources “jungle” of [...]
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This webinar received a total of 14 survey responses. Attendees have given an average rating of 4.6 stars out of a possible 5, reflecting the quality and value of the content presented.
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4.6 Stars
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4.6 Stars
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4.7 Stars
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4.7 Stars
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4.3 Stars
Reviews From Webinar Survey
Our webinars are crafted to deliver exceptional value and insight to business professionals. Below, you'll find genuine feedback from attendees.
Amanda R.
August 3, 2026
4.6 / 5
Webinar Rating:
4.7 Stars
Speaker Rating:
4.5 Stars
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Overall, this was a great webinar. The presenter delivered the information in a way that was both factual and engaging, making complex concepts easy to understand. The content was well organized and easy to follow. I appreciated the presenter’s approach and found the session informative and thought-provoking. It definitely sparked my interest in learning more about the topic.
Leilani W.
July 31, 2026
3.4 / 5
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3.0 Stars
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Not a lot of new material for me.
Anabel R.
July 30, 2026
4.6 / 5
Webinar Rating:
4.7 Stars
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4.5 Stars
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Very informative and the case studies helped to reinforce the teachings.
Donna L.
July 30, 2026
4.6 / 5
Webinar Rating:
4.7 Stars
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4.5 Stars
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no comment
Letty V.
July 30, 2026
4.8 / 5
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5.0 Stars
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4.5 Stars
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Super informative, well-rounded expert ADA and applications knowledge. Thank you.
Cipriano A.
July 30, 2026
4.6 / 5
Webinar Rating:
4.3 Stars
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5.0 Stars
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Presenter did an Excellent job; very knowledgeable and detailed in her presentation and responses to questions asked at the end of the webinar. Definitely got a good refresher and reminder of important Best Practices regarding the ADA.
Burcu A.
July 30, 2026
4.8 / 5
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5.0 Stars
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4.5 Stars
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Presenter was very articulate. It was easy to understand.
Monica E.
July 30, 2026
4.2 / 5
Webinar Rating:
4.3 Stars
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4.0 Stars
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I liked the multiple examples given to put differences into perspective.
Louise B.
July 30, 2026
4.6 / 5
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5.0 Stars
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4.0 Stars
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Great information and tying it back to how it affects operations. Really enjoyed it and changed my perspective on how to handle job descriptions.
Juan T.
July 30, 2026
5.0 / 5
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5.0 Stars
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Frequently Asked Questions
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), essential job functions are the fundamental duties that a position exists to perform—the core tasks that an employee must be able to carry out, with or without reasonable accommodation. The distinction between essential and marginal (non-essential) functions is critical because the ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation only if doing so enables the employee to perform the essential functions of the job. Accommodations that eliminate an essential function entirely are not required. This means that accurately and defensibly defining essential functions directly determines the scope of an employer's accommodation obligations. Poorly written job descriptions that fail to clearly distinguish essential from marginal functions can create significant legal liability: if a function is not identified as essential in the job description, it becomes much harder to defend against claims that the employer failed to accommodate a disability-related limitation. Well-documented essential functions protect the organization, support equitable hiring decisions, and enable managers to have productive, legally compliant conversations about accommodation.
Identifying and documenting essential job functions requires a systematic job analysis process that goes well beyond listing daily tasks. The EEOC has identified several factors that help determine whether a function is essential: whether the position exists to perform that function, how many other employees could perform the function if the current employee cannot, and the degree of expertise or skill required. A job analysis typically involves interviewing current jobholders and their supervisors, observing the work performed, reviewing previous job descriptions and performance standards, and examining the consequences of removing the function from the role. Essential functions must be documented with sufficient specificity to convey their physical, cognitive, and technical requirements—vague descriptions like 'good communication skills' are inadequate. Job descriptions should distinguish essential functions from marginal ones and include physical requirements such as lifting capacity, standing duration, or visual acuity. The documentation should be reviewed and updated regularly—especially when roles evolve significantly—and approved by legal or HR before publication to ensure ADA compliance and defensibility in any subsequent accommodation or disability-related claim.
The distinction between essential and marginal job functions under the ADA is both legally significant and practically important for HR professionals and managers. Essential functions are the primary reason the position exists—tasks so fundamental that removing them would fundamentally alter the nature of the job. Marginal functions, by contrast, are incidental or secondary tasks that could be reassigned to another employee without significantly changing the position's core purpose. For example, a data analyst's essential function is analyzing and interpreting complex datasets to generate business insights; an incidental function might be occasionally preparing printed reports for meetings—a task that could easily be redistributed. The relevance of this distinction in the ADA context is that an employer is not required to eliminate essential functions as an accommodation but may be required to redistribute or modify marginal ones. Courts have held that eliminating or indefinitely reassigning an essential function goes beyond reasonable accommodation. Accurate job descriptions that clearly label each function as essential or marginal are therefore a critical component of legally defensible ADA compliance and accommodation management.
A thorough job analysis is the evidentiary foundation for ADA-compliant accommodation decisions, and its value becomes clearest when accommodation requests are disputed or litigated. When an employee requests accommodation for a disability-related limitation, the employer must evaluate whether the individual can perform the essential functions of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation. Without a well-documented job analysis supporting the essential functions listed in the job description, the employer has limited evidence to defend its accommodation decisions—whether that means demonstrating that a requested modification would eliminate an essential function, or conversely, that the accommodation was genuinely reasonable and effective. A comprehensive job analysis documents specific duties, their frequency, their criticality to the role's purpose, the physical and cognitive demands involved, the degree of experience required, and the consequences of non-performance. This evidence supports defensible interactive accommodation process conversations, helps managers identify creative accommodation options, and protects the organization if an accommodation decision is challenged before the EEOC or in court. Regular updates to job analyses ensure the documentation accurately reflects how roles evolve over time.
Defining essential job functions is a collaborative responsibility that spans HR, operations, legal, and direct management, with each stakeholder contributing unique insight. Direct supervisors and managers who oversee the work are typically best positioned to articulate what the job actually requires day to day—they understand the operational consequences when tasks are not performed and can identify which duties are truly fundamental versus incidental. HR professionals bring knowledge of ADA compliance requirements, job description best practices, and the legal significance of how functions are framed. Legal counsel or employment law experts should review final job descriptions—particularly for roles with complex physical demands or accommodation histories—to ensure defensibility. Subject matter experts and high performers in the role itself can provide valuable first-person accounts of what the job entails in practice, which often differs from how it is described on paper. The EEOC emphasizes that while the employer determines which functions are essential, that determination must be supported by evidence—an employer cannot simply declare any function essential without factual basis. A structured, multi-stakeholder job analysis process produces the most accurate, legally defensible documentation.