Confidentiality @ The Workplace

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? North Carolina

about one month ago, i indicated to my boss - who is not a human resource manager - that i had been having some personal issues recently and needed to take some time off from work to get things straight. i also mentioned that i thought that i drank alcohol too often. i am a commercial insurance broker. drinking is very acceptable in this profession. my boss was supportive and told me to do what i needed to do to get back to "normal."

since that time, he has moved up to a new position and i have a new boss. yesterday afternoon, new boss asked to meet with me to discuss several different items. that is normal in my occupation, but what was not normal is that one of the staff managers was also in the "meeting," which i thought was very strange. this staff manager is not involved in human resources and is not my manager in any capacity.

my new boss proceeded to tell me that he had been informed (by the old boss) that i may have a chemical dependency (which is not what i said). new boss gives me a document outlining a course of action to remedy the situation. it reads as follows:

1) you will immediately seek to be evaluated by a physician or other appropriate health professional to determine if you are alcohol and/or chemical dependent
2) you will provide (company name) with evidence of your evaluation by delivering a signed statement to that effect from the evaluating health professional
3) in the event treatment is indicated, you will immediately enroll or begin whatever treatment is recommended
4) you will actively participate in treatment for so long as your treating physician or health professional indicates is necessary
5) you will provide (company name), as requested, with signed status reports from your treatment providers.

sounds really supportive right? well, after giving it consideration, i believe this is a way for my new boss (which does not like me) to find a reason to terminate me or get me to quit. i was not sure what to do at the time, so i signed the document giving my consent to the request. it's those times you wish you had a lawyer sitting beside you for advice.

i really do not mind seeing a health professional for this determination; however, i do not like the fact that now at least 4 people in our 25 person office know about this (old boss, new boss, staff manager & new boss' administrative assistant, which typed the letter). i am personal friends with all mentioned, but the new boss. now two more people that i have a personal friendship with know these circumstances and demands.

it seems like confidentiality went out the window.

is there anything i can do? any suggestions for recourse against my new boss' actions.

any help / advice is appreciated. thank you.

marsh1973

While it would be much more appropriate for your manager to keep concerns such as this very closely held (i.e. only share them with other members of management strictly on a "need to know" basis), no laws have been violated. Things you tell your employer are not protected by any confidentiality laws.

Beth3, can they legally force me into a program like this. Trust me when I say that my alcohol intake does not affect my job performance. Thanks.

marsh1973

"after giving it consideration, i believe this is a way for my new boss (which does not like me) to find a reason to terminate me or get me to quit."

Your boss does not need to "find a way" to terminate you. All he needs to do is say to you, "Marsh, your services are no longer required" and there you are on the unemployment line. NC, like every other state except Montana, is an at-will state, which means that you can quit at any time and for any reason, and he can fire you at any time and for any reason which does not violate the law.

Whether you know it or not, if you are drinking to the extent that you need to take time off work, then it IS affecting your job performance.

can they legally force me into a program like this. They can't MAKE you do anything but they can legally give you the option of agreeing to this or terminating your employment.

What no one here knows is whether your employer has had legitimate concerns about your job performance and/or possible alcohol related problems prior to your comment. It's possible your employer has been seeing a problem or had suspicions for some time that you might have an alcohol problem and your comment solidified their concerns. If you are having an alcohol abuse problem, it's quite possible you haven't been aware that your work performance has been suffering.

sounds really supportive right? Actually, it does, because they could have just terminated your employment outright. Giving you the option of going through an assessment to determine if you have an alcohol dependency/abuse problem and pursuing treatement if recommended is, in fact, highly supportive.

I've seen this done many times, where employer tells an employee to go seek help with their alcohol/drug problem. And they didn't get fired either, after they successfully returned from the treatment. Good luck.

Everyone, thanks for your comments. After reading your thoughts, comments and/or suggestions, I took a changed view of the situation.

I am going to complete a chemical dependency assessment to see if I really do have a problem. If so, I, along with my employer's support, will try to beat this.

Again, thanks for your thoughts on the matter.

Marsh1973

Good luck to you, Marsh.