HIPAA law violation?

[norseman33]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? I'm from Colorado. My wife was terminated from her hospital job because she looked up a room number for a family member to find her father who had recently been moved to a different room. a fellow employee told her supervisor what she had done and they terminated her employment! They also had a new dept. head from back east who also was a corporate head-hunter who came out to see where they could cut costs. Another senior person was also let go for an unrelated reason. I've heard that Colorado law does not support employees-that is, employers don't have to have a reason to fire an employee. Does all this sound 'above board'? What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[pattytx]

The HIPAA-compliant response would have been "I'm sorry, I cannot answer that question/release that information".

Such a reason for termination would be legal in every state except Montana (and maybe even there). Google "at will employment".

 

[ecmst12]

Employers don't need a reason to fire someone and employees don't need a reason to quit - it works both ways. Termination was legal. It MAY have been a technical HIPAA violation, though one that didn't cause any harm and is done all the time. But even if it was NOT a violation, the termination was legal. She can file for unemployment.

 

[cbg]

In 49 out of 50 states, and occasionally in the 50th (Montana) an employee can quit at any time and for any reason, and an employer can fire them at any time and for any reason not specifically prohibited by law. It is by no means limited to CO.