Employee Privacy of Medical Files

LE · January 2006

I am trying to find something in writing to give to our directors/supervisors that states they are not to be requesting copies of doctors notes from the employees. I try to stress this is what their medical file is for and unless the employee wants to tell you what the problem is you are not suppose to ask. Is there anything out there that will help me?

HRCalico · January 2006

HIPAA is one thing that will help you. In a nutshell, it says that protected health information is private and should only be disclosed to the people the person wishes it disclosed. That means not looking up information on an employee unless you need to know. Also, it means that we as employers don't disclose information to people who don't need to know. For example, our receptionist has been instructed to not e-mail the reason when an employee calls in (i.e. Joe is out today, versus Joe called in and said he has a large and alarming rash that seems to be growing by the minute.) She records that information in a notebook and I check it frequently to see what's going on and if I need to take further action.

ADA is another thing that comes to mind, as does FMLA, where you can only request certification from physicians at certain times. Both of those are pretty lengthy to get into one post.

Doctors notes do have their place, however - don't get me wrong. We require a note when an employee is absent for three consecutive days or more due to illness to make sure they are able to return to work. These notes contain zero health info - Joe was seen at the clinic on X date and may return to work on Y date. So in some cases, it's OK to ask for a note.

Does that help or only confuse you more?

LE · January 2006

Thanks, yes that does help and I was able to find some info to pass on from the ADA manual.

Employee Privacy of Medical Files

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