hippa law

What is the name of your state? ohio
i have been off work for several weeks(medical reasons). the doctor has scheduled some tests because it could be something very serious and life threatening. the hr manager called the house to tell me it was a joke i am off and management and my peers think its funny. the only way my (peers) would know is if management told them. have my hippa laws been violated? is this discrimination?

It's HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), and no they have not. HIPAA laws prohibit the release of information by the insurer without your consent. It does not prohibit the employer from broadcasting information that you told them, unprofessional as it may be.

jthompso said:

What is the name of your state? ohio
i have been off work for several weeks(medical reasons). the doctor has scheduled some tests because it could be something very serious and life threatening. the hr manager called the house to tell me it was a joke i am off and management and my peers think its funny. the only way my (peers) would know is if management told them. have my hippa laws been violated? is this discrimination?

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Did the HR manager contact your Doctor's office, and did your Doctor's office release your medical records to him/her for review. IF not....this is not a Hippa violation.

If YOU told your HR manager about your medical conditions and this is nothing more than "water cooler" talk, ....then it would be considered gossip at best, which is not illegal.

****To discriminate socially is to make a distinction between people on the basis of class or category without regard to individual merit. Examples include racial, religious, sexual, disability, ethnic, height-related and age-related discrimination.

Distinctions between people which are based just on individual merit (such as personal achievement, skill or ability) are not discriminatory.