CESP Professional Ethics & Legal Considerations 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A job seeker with a disability asks their employment specialist to withhold disclosure of their criminal record from an employer. What is the most ethical response?
- Agree to withhold all information on their behalf
- Explain that honesty is essential and coach the person on how to disclose appropriately (Correct answer)
- Contact the employer directly and ask them not to run a background check
- Document the request but do nothing further
Correct answer: Explain that honesty is essential and coach the person on how to disclose appropriately
Employment specialists must support honest job seeking practices while coaching individuals on how to address sensitive topics constructively.
Question 2: Under the ADA, what is an employer required to do when a qualified applicant requests a reasonable accommodation?
- Automatically approve any accommodation requested
- Engage in an interactive process to identify effective accommodations (Correct answer)
- Deny the request if the cost exceeds $500
- Offer only accommodations listed in federal guidelines
Correct answer: Engage in an interactive process to identify effective accommodations
The ADA requires employers to engage in an interactive process with the employee or applicant to determine effective and reasonable accommodations.
Question 3: A CESP discovers that a colleague is falsifying job placement records. What is the appropriate first step?
- Ignore it to avoid workplace conflict
- Confront the colleague privately and warn them
- Report the misconduct through the organization's proper reporting channels (Correct answer)
- Contact the employer where placements were falsified
Correct answer: Report the misconduct through the organization's proper reporting channels
Ethical standards require professionals to report misconduct through established organizational or regulatory channels to protect service integrity.
Question 4: Which federal law prohibits employment discrimination based on national origin?
- Rehabilitation Act of 1973
- Fair Labor Standards Act
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Correct answer)
- Americans with Disabilities Act
Correct answer: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.
Question 5: A job seeker tells their CESP they want to apply for a position that the specialist believes is too demanding. The ethical approach is to:
- Refuse to help until the person chooses a more suitable job
- Support the person's choice while providing honest information about the role's demands (Correct answer)
- Contact the employer and advise them not to hire the individual
- Redirect the person to a different career path without explanation
Correct answer: Support the person's choice while providing honest information about the role's demands
Self-determination is a core ethical value; the specialist should provide honest information while respecting the individual's right to choose.
Question 6: What is the primary purpose of informed consent in employment support services?
- To protect the agency from liability
- To ensure the individual understands and voluntarily agrees to services provided (Correct answer)
- To document that services were delivered
- To satisfy state licensing requirements
Correct answer: To ensure the individual understands and voluntarily agrees to services provided
Informed consent ensures individuals have full understanding of services and freely agree to participate, respecting their autonomy and dignity.
Question 7: A CESP is working with a job seeker who belongs to a religious group the specialist personally disagrees with. Ethical practice requires the specialist to:
- Refer the individual to another specialist immediately
- Provide equal, respectful services regardless of personal beliefs (Correct answer)
- Ask the individual to keep religious topics out of sessions
- Disclose personal beliefs to maintain transparency
Correct answer: Provide equal, respectful services regardless of personal beliefs
CESPs are ethically obligated to provide equitable services to all individuals regardless of personal biases or beliefs.
CESP Professional Ethics & Legal Considerations 2
A job seeker with a disability asks their employment specialist to withhold disclosure of their criminal record from an employer.
What is the most ethical response?