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Medical Information Confidentiality Policy
Important disclaimer: The policy available on this page is only an example and is furnished merely as an illustration of its category. It is not meant to be taken and used without consultation with a licensed employment law attorney. If you are in need of a policy for a particular situation, you should keep in mind that any sample policy such as the one available below would need to be reviewed, and possibly modified, by an employment law attorney in order to fit your situation and to comply with the laws of your state. Downloading, printing, or reproducing any of these policies in any manner constitutes your agreement that you understand this disclaimer and that you will not use the policy for your company or individual situation without first having it approved and, if necessary, modified by an employment law attorney of your choice.
The Company strives to protect the privacy of its employees' medical information to the greatest possible extent. To that end, we provide the following guidelines regarding the confidentiality of medical information:
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Any medical information concerning employees will be maintained in separate, confidential medical files apart from regular personnel records. Only authorized employees may ever have access to such files.
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Employees are hereby notified that medical information concerning employees is absolutely confidential under state and federal laws and may not be discussed at any time with any person under any circumstances, unless an employee needs to do so in order to carry out his or her job duties, or unless the person discussing the information is talking with the subject of the information at that person's invitation. If an employee is concerned about a possible medical condition on the part of a coworker, the employee must not discuss such concern with anyone other than [designate here the person to whom such concerns should be brought].
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Any employee who is found to have discussed medical information about another employee with anyone else in violation of this policy, or who is found to have released such information without authorization, will be subject to severe disciplinary action, up to and possibly including immediate termination from employment. In addition, state and federal laws may subject such an employee to both civil and criminal action in a court of law.
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Again, it is not recommended to simply adopt this sample policy for your situation without first seeking the advice of an employment law attorney. There is almost an infinite variety of policies for various kinds of workplaces and different kinds of situations. Moreover, the laws vary widely from state to state in some areas of employee relations. Thus, it is very important to make sure that what you have in your policy handbook not only truly meets your needs, but also complies with your state's law. |
Don't know an attorney? Contact ELANet for information on how to find an attorney concerning the design or review of employment policies for your situation:
© 2000
Employment Law Advisory Network, Inc.
© Copyright 2000 Employment Law Advisory Network, Inc. All rights reserved.