Can an employer require a job applicant to have a high school diploma?

Let’s play claim or no claim. May an employer require an applicant to have a high school diploma? The answer is "no” in some circumstances, according to an informal opinion letter issued by the EEOC on Nov. 17, 2011. The EEOC argues that an employer violates the ADA by adopting such a standard if it "screens out” from employment an individual who is unable to graduate because of a learning disability. There is one escape clause, according to the EEOC: The employer may adopt a high school diploma standard if the requirement is job related and consistent with business necessity. But even then, the employer must allow the applicant to demonstrate an ability to perform the job's essential functions, with or without a reasonable accommodation. I am old enough to remember job applications floating around with questions on marriage status, age, or children’s names and ages. The law snuffed these out, as with questions touching on disability status, because the purpose of American law, when you wipe away the makeup, is to treat people as individuals, no more and no less.