What information should be included in a job description?

• Job title. A job title should be a mini job description, and generally it should not only give a general idea of what the job entails but also include an indication of the level of the job.

• Date. The date the description was prepared is generally indicated at the top of the document, and is useful for planning periodic revisions.

• FLSA Exemption Status. Job descriptions generally indicate whether the job is exempt or non-exempt according to the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

• General Summary. This section, typically found at the top of the job description, summarizes the overall purpose and functions of the job. Consisting of four or five sentences, it should briefly set out the main purposes and functions of the job. The general summary should describe the job's reporting relationships-who reports to the person holding the job, and who the person holding the job reports to-if the job description does not have a separate section for this purpose. Because it is a mini version of the job description as a whole, the General Summary may be easier to write after the other sections of the job description are complete.

• Principle Duties and Responsibilities. This section, usually following the General Summary should contains seven to ten statements that itemize the primary duties or essential functions of the job. Duties should be presented in a logical order and include information regarding the frequency or percentage of time spent on each task. Tasks that do not account for at least five percent of the work are generally not included. However, if there is some aspect of a job's requirements, usually that occurs periodically, or as little as once a year, but whose impact is company-wide, the task should be mentioned. Also, the listing of the job's duties and responsibilities should make clear the consequences or impact of the job holder making a mistake or being in error. The job description doesn't have to spell out this information specifically, but it should be apparent from reading the listing of the job's duties and responsibilities. Many jobs are paid at a specific level because of risk factors to the company.

• Job Specifications. Job Specifications detail the specific knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies that are required for a person to competently perform the essential functions of the job. Typical elements include education, years and type of experience, training, licenses, certifications, skills (e.g., analytical, detail-orientation), as well as mental and physical demands. Job specifications may be a section of the job description (typically following Principle Duties and Responsibilities), or it may exist as a separate document. To avoid discriminating against protected groups, it is important that specifications be realistic minimum requirements. Job Specifications do not necessarily describe the skills and qualifications possessed by current job holders. To help ensure legal defensibility, include statements indicating why each specification is required to competently perform the specific job.

• Physical and Mental Demands. To comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), job descriptions should include statements detailing the physical and mental demands (lifting, bending, walking) required to perform a job. This information could be included under Job Specifications or it may appear as a separate section of the job description. Alternatively, mental and physical requirements may be listed in a separate document specifically for ADA compliance.

• Working Conditions. This section describes things like the noise and temperature levels that must be endured, extensive travel, any dangerous machinery that the job holder must use, and even uncommonly high levels of electricity. Job conditions of white collar should also be considered. Do not make the false assumption that these employees are never subjected to adverse working conditions. Office noise and factors like having a poorly designed work area for the tasks to be performed should be included in job descriptions and taken into consideration in job evaluation. Defining and documenting working conditions is helpful for compliance with the ADA.

• Approval. This is a section for the appropriate members of management to indicate their approval.

• Disclaimer. For the protection of the company, job descriptions should contain a disclaimer statement. This statement should say that the job description is not meant to be an all-inclusive statement of every duty and responsibility that will ever by required of an employee in the job. The disclaimer statement will protect the company from employees who refuse to perform assigned tasks on the basis that it's not in my job description and will provide limited protection from the changing nature of many jobs.