A change to the Americans with Disabilities Act could effect the way most companies conduct pre employment tests.

Amendments were made to the ADA beginning January 1, which broadened the legal definition of a disability to include more physical limitations. And while job applicants are usually used to getting a job offer, passing a pre employment test an drug test and then getting hired, that soon may change.

According to an article by the Fresnobee, many employers are worried they will soon face more lawsuits as job seekers claim to have more disabilities. Matthew Condon, president of the Athletic and Rehabilitation Center in Overland Park, Kan., thinks this can be avoided if employers "standardize your processes, individualize your assessments."

This is done by getting a current analysis of what functions are essential to a specific job and then creating a standardized test to determine if all job applicants can meet the requirements. Any applicant that fails the test would then receive a window of opportunity, during which time employers may access medical information to determine whether the test failure was due to a disability.

If the potential employee is found to have a disability, the employer then needs to figure out how he or she will accommodate that. The law states that if assisting technology or realigning duties will allow that person to get the job done without any undue hardship to the employer, that employee should be hired.

However, if the test finds the applicant is not disabled and cannot meet the essential requirements, there should be no grounds for arguing disability discrimination.