I am required to post my reason for abscence due to illness in a database that all ee's can view. Legal??

Question

I feel it is important to know that an employee is out of the office but not the reason for their abscence. Where I work, we are required to post that we are "ill, STD, LTD, surgeries, etc. I feel this information is confidential and should be protected. Any legal advice that I can present to my employer is appreciated. Thanks!

Answer 1

The contract of employment is between an individual employee and his employer. According to law, any information pertaining to employee is not for public view and hence your employer will be committing an illegal act if your reasons for leave are advertised !!

Answer 2

Actually, as long as they are firing him for a good reason, it doesn't matter about his mental health status. You say he has been depressed for three years. Perhaps since he has been with the company so long, they have tried to let him slide. But it could be that your dad's performance has steadily declined over the last three years. This happens in people with depression. This has been a problem for three years, and if it does have something do with his job performance and productivity, then it's legal. You say he has only recently tried to get help. I understand where the company is coming from. They may have worked with him if he had tried to get help sooner, but since he is so far in this, and only they really know how well your dad has been doing on the job, the only thing I can say is, maybe he should have sought help a lot sooner. Yes, it was wrong for him to tell your sister, but there's really nothing illegal about that either. Also, if he is employed in a no fault state, that means he can be fired at any time. For breathing. Or anything really. They wouldn't even need a reason. I suggest your dad finds a good doctor, gets himself on medication because it's likely that if this has gone on so long it's probably a chemical imbalance and it needs to be corrected with medication, and then goes out and finds himself a new job. He has 25 years experience in a certain field. He could probably find a job very easily.

Answer 3

You are correct that your medical specifics are confidential - there are people who are allowed to look at it, but not the entire organization. I don't know what "ee's" are so don't know if that's people who can legitimately look at it or not. But if it's all the employees of the company, no it's not legal to require that beyond posting just "illness" as the reason, not the specifics.

Answer 4

There's a lot of confusion about HIPAA out there -- generally HIPAA refers to those in the health care profession not revealing health information.

The privacy rule applies to health plans, health care clearinghouses, and health care providers. It applies to employers only to the extent that they somehow operate in one or more of those capacities. The same standards apply to covered entities in both the public and private sectors.

I'm not sure your employer is actually violating any privacy laws if the health information is not used to work against you for promotions, etc. Check with your state's department of labor.

Answer 5

The reason that one is out of the office should be listed as a vacation day, bereavement leave, weather conditions etc.
If someone is absent due to an illness and uses a sick day then that is all they need to know. HIPPA regulations make it illegal to disclose specific medical conditions. It should only be listed as 'illness' or 'medical issues' and nothing more.

Answer 6

Privacy Rule
HANDLING EMPLOYEE MEDICAL INFORMATION

Did you know that in 1996 Congress enacted the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which mandates protecting the privacy of an individual’s personally identifiable health information? This means that employees who go on medical leave are protected by confidentiality to prevent the nature of their or their families’ medical condition from being disclosed. Emails, announcements at staff meetings, and other methods of communication about the specifics of employees’ (or their families’) medical conditions are unlawful as well as inappropriate. This also applies to referencing an employee’s medical leave and/or medical issues in performance evaluations.

It is important that, if you as a manager or supervisor are made aware of the nature of the medical condition of an employee or his/her family member, you keep the information confidential and do not share any details of this information with others.

While it is understood that managers and supervisors have the best interest of their employees in mind, it is important to recognize the need to balance good will with good judgment, respect and discretion when handling medical issues
The Privacy Rule is intended to protect the privacy of all individually identifiable health information in the hands of covered entities, regardless of whether the information is or has been in electronic form. The rule establishes the first “set of basic national privacy standards and fair
information practices that provides all Americans with a basic level of protection and peace of mind that is essential to their full participation in their care”. 65 Fed. Reg. at 82464The Privacy standards:
• Give patients new rights to access their medical records, restrict access by others, request changes, and to learn how they have been accessed
• Restrict most disclosures of protected health information to the minimum needed for healthcare treatment and business operations
• Provide that all patients are formally notified of covered entities' privacy practices,
• Enable patients to decide if they will authorize disclosure of their protected health information (PHI) for uses other than treatment or healthcare business operations
• Establish new criminal and civil sanctions for improper use or disclosure of PHI
• Establish new requirements for access to records by researchers and others
• Establish business associate agreements with business partners that safeguard their use and disclosure of PHI.
• Implement a comprehensive compliance program, including
o Conducting an impact assessment to determine gaps between existing information practices and policies and HIPAA requirements
o Reviewing functions and activities of the organization's business partners to determine where Business Associate Agreements are required
o Developing and implementing enterprise-wise privacy policies and procedures to implement the Rule
o Assigning a Privacy officer who will administer the organizational privacy program and enforce compliance
o Training all members of the workforce on HIPAA and organizational privacy policies
o Updating systems to ensure they provide adequate protection of patient data