Job Description Template template
A job description is the written statement of what a job is for, the essential functions it exists to perform, the qualifications and physical requirements it genuinely demands, and where it sits in the organization. In the US it is not just a recruiting document — it is the reference point for two legal questions that arrive later: what this job's essential functions are under the ADA, and whether the role is exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA.
The essential-functions framing is the part most templates miss. When an employee or applicant with a disability asks for a reasonable accommodation, the analysis turns on which functions of the job are essential — and a job description written before the question arose, honestly separating the essential from the marginal, is evidence of what the job really requires. A description written after the dispute starts is worth much less.
This template gives you the full structure: job identification with an FLSA classification flag, a position summary, essential functions written as outcomes, marginal duties kept separate, physical requirements described honestly, and job-related qualifications — plus the acknowledgment and review routine that keeps descriptions matching reality.
Full text, ready to adapt.
Highlighted fields are placeholders — replace them with your organisation's specifics. A starting point, not legal advice.
Job Description Template
Policy · HR & People
1. Purpose and scope
This template is how {{org.name}} writes and maintains job descriptions. Every role has a current description, written [before the role is advertised], reviewed by [name/role], and re-acknowledged when it materially changes. Descriptions are used in recruiting, onboarding, performance reviews, accommodation discussions, and FLSA classification reviews — one document, five jobs.
2. Job identification
- Job title: [title] — descriptive, not inflated; titles carry no legal weight but set expectations.
- Department and reports to: [department], reporting to [title].
- Location and schedule: [site / remote / hybrid], [full-time/part-time, typical schedule].
- FLSA classification: [exempt / non-exempt] — review against current DOL duties and salary criteria before relying on this; the work as actually performed decides it, and misclassification is an expensive default to inherit.
- Pay range: [range — required in job postings in a growing number of states; check your state before omitting].
- Version and date: [version], approved by [name/role] on [date].
3. Position summary
[Two or three sentences: why the job exists, what it is accountable for, and the one result that defines success. Written for a candidate to understand in thirty seconds — the detail belongs in the functions below.]
The summary should describe the job, not the ideal occupant. "Keeps the kitchen inspection-ready and the line running through service" tells a candidate more than any list of adjectives.
4. Essential functions
Essential functions are the fundamental duties the job exists to perform — the ones that make it this job and not another. A function is likely essential if the position exists to perform it, if few other employees are available to absorb it, or if it requires special skill the role was hired for. List [5–8] functions, each starting with an action verb, each describing an outcome rather than a method, with the approximate portion of time where useful:
- [Function 1 — e.g. "Prepares menu items to spec during service, approximately X% of time."]
- [Function 2]
- [Function 3]
- [Function 4]
- [Function 5]
- Describe outcomes, not methods — "moves stock between storeroom and floor" rather than "carries boxes" — because outcome language leaves room for an accommodation to change the how without changing the what.
5. Marginal duties
Duties the role performs but does not exist for — coverage tasks, occasional projects, "other duties as assigned" — are listed here, separately. Keeping them out of the essential list is the point: padding essential functions with marginal duties weakens the description as ADA evidence, because a list where everything is essential shows that nothing was actually assessed.
[Marginal duty 1] · [Marginal duty 2] · Other duties as assigned by [manager title].
6. Physical requirements and work environment
- Physical demands: [lifting up to X lbs, frequency; standing/walking for X-hour periods; bending, reaching, climbing as applicable].
- Work environment: [kitchen heat, warehouse noise, outdoor exposure, office setting — as it actually is].
- Travel: [percentage or frequency, if any].
- Describe the job as performed, not worst-case boilerplate — "must lift 50 lbs" on a desk job is the line that gets a description dismissed as unreliable, and honest requirements are what make the later accommodation conversation workable.
7. Qualifications
- Required: [education, certification, license, experience genuinely necessary to perform the essential functions — nothing else].
- Preferred: [qualifications that help but are not necessary — kept clearly separate from required].
- Every requirement should be job-related and consistent with business necessity; "or equivalent experience" alongside education requirements keeps the pool wide and the requirement defensible.
- [Licenses/certifications required by law for this role: [list] — these are the only requirements that belong in "required" without debate.]
8. Acknowledgment, records and review
The employee and [manager title] sign the description at hire and whenever it materially changes; signed copies are filed at [system/location]. The signature acknowledges the duties — it does not create an employment contract, and employment at {{org.name}} remains at will.
Each description is reviewed [frequency, e.g. annually], before the role is advertised, and after any material change to duties — a description that no longer matches the job is worse than none in an ADA or FLSA dispute. Owner: [name/role]. Next review due: [date].
How to adapt this template.
Write the description with the people who do or supervise the job, before advertising it — a description written before the hiring decision is the one that carries evidentiary weight.
Sort every duty into essential or marginal honestly; if everything is essential, the sorting never happened and the document shows it.
Treat the FLSA field as a review trigger: check the role's actual duties and pay against current DOL criteria rather than copying last year's label.
Strip any qualification you cannot tie to an essential function — each unnecessary requirement narrows the pool and widens the legal exposure.
Check your state for pay-transparency rules before posting, and add the range if required.
Re-sign the description whenever the job materially changes, and diary the annual review.
Turn this template into trained, proven behaviour
A policy in a drawer proves nothing. In TrainedTeam this template becomes assigned training with knowledge checks, e-signature acknowledgments, version history, and an audit-ready record of who completed what, when.
Job Description Template template FAQs
Are job descriptions required by law in the US?
No federal law requires them. But the ADA makes essential functions the pivot of accommodation and hiring decisions, and the EEOC treats a job description written before advertising or interviewing as evidence of what those functions are. In practice, the description is the document your side of an ADA or misclassification dispute stands on — optional in law, essential in fact.
What makes a function "essential"?
The job exists to perform it, there are few other employees to absorb it, or it demands the special skill the role was hired for. The test is honest sorting: a cashier's essential function is processing transactions; restocking shelves during quiet spells is probably marginal. Time spent matters but is not decisive — a lifeguard rescues rarely, yet nothing about the job is more essential.
Does the job description decide whether a role is exempt from overtime?
No. Per the DOL, FLSA exemption turns on the duties actually performed and how the employee is paid — not the title, and not what the description says. A well-written description supports the analysis, and a stale one undermines it. Treat the classification line as a flag to review against current DOL criteria whenever the description is touched.
Should we list physical requirements even for office jobs?
Yes, accurately — which for many office roles means very little: [extended periods at a workstation, occasional lifting of X lbs]. The mistake in both directions is dishonesty: heavy boilerplate on light jobs discredits the document, and omitting real demands on physical jobs sets up an accommodation conversation with no starting point.
How often should job descriptions be updated?
Review on a schedule — annually is common — and always before recruiting for the role and after any material change in duties. The dangerous description is the one nobody has read since the job changed: it misstates the essential functions in exactly the dispute where they matter.
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