Ace Your HR Game 2026: Master Job Analysis & Talent Management Like a Pro!

Essential functions are the core duties that are fundamental to a job and must be performed to consider the job fulfilled. When hiring or considering accommodations, employers focus on whether a candidate can perform these essential functions, with or without reasonable accommodations. That relationship—between the essential tasks and the candidate’s ability to perform them—drives judgments about job-relatedness in hiring and in accommodation decisions under disability laws.

Salary levels, benefit structures, and the removal of nonessential tasks aren’t determined by which tasks are deemed essential; those are governed by pay practices, benefit policies, and broader job design considerations.