Fit-for-Duty & Return-to-Work Evaluations
Objective fit-for-duty and return-to-work evaluations for current employees — a functional work-readiness assessment by licensed physical therapy professionals, matched to the job's real demands. Used after injury or leave, a safety concern, or a workplace incident to decide who can safely return.
A fit-for-duty evaluation objectively confirms a worker can safely perform their job's essential physical demands — for return-to-work, post-incident, and periodic safety checks — by licensed PT professionals.
Deciding whether an employee can safely return to — or stay in — a physically demanding role shouldn't come down to a guess or a one-line doctor's note. Bring them back too soon and you risk re-injury and a larger workers' comp claim; hold them out too long and you carry unnecessary wage loss and disruption.
An objective, job-matched assessment
Diversified provides fit-for-duty evaluations as an objective functional work-readiness assessment, administered by licensed physical therapy professionals and matched to the essential physical demands of the specific job. We measure what the role actually requires — lifting, carrying, push/pull, range of motion, and sustained postures — and return a clear determination: the employee can, or cannot, currently perform the job's physical functions.
For the moments you need certainty
Employers use a fit-for-duty evaluation when an employee is returning after an injury, illness, or leave; when a performance or safety concern raises a genuine question about physical ability; when a safety-sensitive role calls for periodic verification; or when an employee is returning after a workplace incident.
Structured to be job-related and defensible
A fitness-for-duty assessment of a current employee must be job-related and consistent with business necessity. We build each evaluation around the position's documented essential functions and administer it objectively — so your decision rests on evidence, not impression. You make the employment decision; we provide the documentation behind it.
Key Features
Objective Functional Assessment
A measured, repeatable evaluation of what the job requires — not a subjective opinion or a one-line note.
Matched to the Job's Essential Demands
Built around the position's documented physical demands, so it measures fitness for that specific role.
PT-Administered
Conducted and scored by licensed physical therapy professionals.
Return-to-Work, Post-Incident & Periodic
Used for return-to-work clearance, after a workplace incident, for periodic safety-sensitive checks, or when a safety concern arises.
Job-Related & Defensible
Structured to meet the job-related, business-necessity standard for current-employee assessments.
Clear Determination + Documentation
A written result — can or cannot currently perform the job's physical functions — with supporting documentation.
Medical & Compliance Requirements
Compliance Requirement
The standard for current employees (ADA)
A disability-related inquiry or medical examination of a current employee must be job-related and consistent with business necessity — generally, when the employer has a reasonable belief, based on objective evidence, that the employee's ability to perform essential functions is impaired, or that the employee poses a direct threat to health or safety (42 U.S.C. 12112(d)(4)(A); 29 CFR 1630.14(c); direct-threat standard, 29 CFR 1630.2(r)).
Job-matched, not generic
Because the assessment is tied to the position's documented essential functions, it measures fitness for that specific role rather than general health — the framing that keeps it consistent with the business-necessity standard.
The decision stays with the employer
We deliver an objective, documented functional determination. Whether and how to act on it — including any reasonable-accommodation and direct-threat analysis — is the employer's decision, best coordinated with HR and legal counsel.
Frequently Asked Questions
An objective functional work-readiness assessment, administered and scored by licensed physical therapy professionals and matched to the job's physical demands. It is not a general doctor's physical — it measures whether the employee can currently perform the specific role.
Common triggers are a return to work after injury, illness, or leave; a safety or performance concern backed by objective evidence; periodic verification for safety-sensitive roles; or a return to duty after a workplace incident.
Yes — return-to-work clearance is the most common reason for a fit-for-duty evaluation, and we handle it the same way: an objective functional assessment against the job's essential demands.
A note is a general opinion. A fit-for-duty evaluation is an objective, job-matched functional assessment measured against the position's actual essential demands, with supporting documentation.
The employee participates in the assessment. The employer is responsible for the lawful basis — job-related and consistent with business necessity — and for how the result is used. We recommend coordinating with your HR and legal counsel.
$125 per evaluation, with consortium and contract rates available.
We provide an objective, documented functional determination that supports return-to-work decisions. We do not render legal or workers'-compensation claims determinations.
Same functional approach, different timing. Post-offer screening evaluates a new hire before placement; a fit-for-duty evaluation assesses a current employee — which carries a higher, job-related-and-business-necessity legal standard.
Related Services
DOT Physical Examinations
Fast, FMCSA-compliant DOT physicals at our Lincoln and Beatrice clinics — about 30 minutes, performed by National Registry-certified examiners on staff. For full-service compliance clients, we track every driver's medical card and flag renewals before they lapse.
Audiometric Testing & Hearing Conservation
OSHA 1910.95 hearing testing for noise-exposed workforces — baseline and annual audiograms with standard-threshold-shift tracking. Test individuals at our Lincoln clinic, or bring our growing on-site mobile service to your factory floor for whole-crew baseline and annual screening.
Vision Screening (Snellen & Color Vision)
Fast, low-cost vision screening — Snellen visual acuity and Ishihara color vision — most often built into a custom pre-employment or occupational-health package alongside functional, drug, and hearing testing. Also a quick pre-check that a driver meets the DOT 20/40 standard.
Bring employees back safely — an objective, job-matched fit-for-duty evaluation so return-to-work decisions rest on evidence, not guesswork.
Contact our occupational health specialists to ensure your workforce meets all medical certification and fitness-for-duty requirements.
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