Covid vs HIPAA

I was having a discussion with my wife about her employers handling of covid protocols.

One thing I still haven't found an answer for is how any medical information can be mandated. The hippa laws clearly state a right to privacy concerning medical information.

As an employer myself, I have to follow some very strick regulations regarding employees personal information.
I cannot ask why someone needs a "personal" day.
I cannot ask about someone's medical condition.
I can discuss these topics but I cannot request or require the information.

That makes me question how an employer can demand confirmation of a medical procedure being performed.
Vaccinations are a medical procedure.
I can understand it in the medical field where it could be considered part of PPE protocols.

I know schools require proof of inoculation for students to be admitted but I'm not entirely sure how enforceable that type of thing actually is legally.

What say you?
Could this be a hippa violation?


Hippa rules in link

www.hhs.gov...

a reply to: Bluntone22

'HIPAA'.

It applies to your provider and care takers. A business can ask you, you do not have to reply, however you have no guarantee of employment in nearly all states and circumstances.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Right.
You don't have a right to guaranteed employment.

However I am very limited to the personal questions I'm allowed to ask. Legal headaches a plenty...

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Right.
You don't have a right to guaranteed employment.

However I am very limited to the personal questions I'm allowed to ask. Legal headaches a plenty...

The Government gave itself a "COVID Exemption", it won't do the same for you. There's a reason Trial Lawyers donate heavily to the Democratic Party. This is a setup.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
However I am very limited to the personal questions I'm allowed to ask. Legal headaches a plenty...

You can ask someone if they're vaccinated, you will have a hard time mandating it but you can still s*** can them for pretty much any reason without having to tell them.

My employer just asked everyone to report their status. It's not really mandatory but only a moron wouldn't read between the lines on this.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Yeah in most states you can terminate employment for any or no reason but it does not mean the employee cannot file for unemployment. If they did file you would have to prove "willful negligence" or something to get out of paying.

a reply to: Bluntone22

A large majority of the corporations that I work for are American, and I assure you they can and do ask what medications you are taking, and if they find out you lied to them, you're fired, and blacklisted as a liability, especially if an opiate or narcotic is involved, even with a prescription.

I'm sure it's the same in the States from my experience.

originally posted by: drewlander
Yeah in most states you can terminate employment for any or no reason but it does not mean the employee cannot file for unemployment. If they did file you would have to prove "willful negligence" or something to get out of paying.

I suppose but who wants to be on unemployment? It pays like crap.

a reply to: Bluntone22

Short answer: HIPAA does not apply to employers. HIPAA only applies to medical providers. It's a very narrow law which many are woefully underinformed about.

So, if your employer went to your doctor and demanded to know your vaccination status, and your doctor told your employer...that would be a HIPAA violation.

As noted above, you are not required by law to respond to an employer's request about vax status. However, there may be consequences, as employers are equally not required by law to employ you.

PII laws are probably more applicable to this situation than HIPAA is, but the problem there is PII laws vary widely from area to area.

ETA - The fundamental spirit behind HIPAA was to prevent medical providers from sharing information unrelated to claims with insurance providers.

originally posted by: MykeNukem
a reply to: Bluntone22

A large majority of the corporations that I work for are American, and I assure you they can and do ask what medications you are taking, and if they find out you lied to them, you're fired, and blacklisted as a liability, especially if an opiate or narcotic is involved, even with a prescription.

I'm sure it's the same in the States from my experience.

Yes, those drugs are usually the ones that the drug tests show.
For obvious reasons.

You would not be asked if you are taking birth control.

a reply to: Bluntone22

That isn't HIPPA, as Augustus stated. HIPPA also has some exemptions for reportable diseases.

ADA and FMLA have requirements for employers as it relates to employee health.

The ADA rules can come into play, but it all depends on how they go about it and how courts rule. "Reasonable accommodation" will end up being a sticking point for employers with employees that are medically excluded from getting the vaccine. This will also effect places that require proof of vaccination for entry.

a reply to: Ksihkehe

That makes sense.
I'm not real familiar with the fine details and exemptions in the hippa laws.

originally posted by: MykeNukem
a reply to: Bluntone22

A large majority of the corporations that I work for are American, and I assure you they can and do ask what medications you are taking, and if they find out you lied to them, you're fired, and blacklisted as a liability, especially if an opiate or narcotic is involved, even with a prescription.

I'm sure it's the same in the States from my experience.

If you're referring to medical providers; they better not!! That would absolutely be a HIPAA violation! 100% guaranteed! In fact, that is practically a textbook example of a HIPAA violation. An employer has the right to drug test you if those are part of the terms of your employment, but it is 100% against the law for a medical provider to provide information about you, and/or any medications you may take, to your employer.

HIPAA

One 'P', two 'A's.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Oh id sooner punch myself in the dick than take that pay cut but on the other side id hate to be a smaller business and have to pay for all those walkouts plus the trouble of training new people if i had many employees unwilling to vax.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

HIPAA

One 'P', two 'A's.

Lol

originally posted by: drewlander
Oh id sooner punch myself in the dick than take that pay cut but on the other side id hate to be a smaller business and have to pay for all those walkouts plus the trouble of training new people if i had many employees unwilling to vax.

You're assuming that all those people will want to be on unemployment and it's s*** pay/benefits.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Yes, my bad.

You didn't have to YELL so loud!

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk

originally posted by: MykeNukem
a reply to: Bluntone22

A large majority of the corporations that I work for are American, and I assure you they can and do ask what medications you are taking, and if they find out you lied to them, you're fired, and blacklisted as a liability, especially if an opiate or narcotic is involved, even with a prescription.

I'm sure it's the same in the States from my experience.

If you're referring to medical providers; they better not!! That would absolutely be a HIPPA violation! 100% guaranteed! In fact, that is practically a textbook example of a HIPPA violation. An employer has the right to drug test you if those are part of the terms of your employment, but it is 100% against the law for a medical provider to provide information about you, and/or any medications you may take, to your employer.

Yes, I'm talking about employers.

Providing the information is voluntary on your part, if you want the job.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: Ksihkehe

That makes sense.
I'm not real familiar with the fine details and exemptions in the hippa laws.

The exemptions apply to public health agencies for full release of records and, excluding personally identifying information, data can be released for study. Demographic data is scrubbed of all the identifiers. I'm not terribly familiar with the use of that, my guess is it's used for analytics at large medical groups and for research scientists requesting data from health agencies.

None of that should have an impact on employers.

There's going to a lot of interesting things happening, dangerous but interesting. Just one or two court cases could have big impacts on the whole country for many decades to come.