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Is this a Hipaa Violation?


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gonnadropthemic

My husband works at a hospital. In May he fell and injured his arm and they wouldn't let him work bc he works in the OR and can't scrub in.

His employer made him get ready for work and come into the employee health department every other day for the whole 7 weeks he was out to check his arm. It was cut up pretty bad and just nasty. Well they kept sending him back home saying sorry we can't let you work yet. So this kept going on and he kept getting sent back home.

 

After a few weeks they suggested he get started on FMLA paperwork to help cover what deductions are frozen like the medical insurance, and other deductions that come out of his check. He never got the FMLA going (or still hasn't) so he basically was off work for 7 weeks with NO PAY.

 

He had to go up to his work one afternoon while we were out running errands to drop off this paperwork to the office there. While I was sitting out in the car with the kids one of his co-workers came outside and started taking pictures of me! Well, I did the same thing and started taking pics of her as well since she was doing it. (just to be petty)

When hubby gets back in the car I told him what she was doing and he really didn't believe me said she was probably making a phone call what not.

 

My husband returned back to work last week and one co worker who is always rude came up to him and said "oh hey nice long vacation huh?!" and my husband replied back ya with NO PAY. I guess they assume he was getting paid for all this time off or that he didn't want to come back to work, which both are so untrue.

 

Today he tells me that he was leaving work and heard this employee (the who took the pics of me in the car) talking about him to another employee. When she left he asked the other employee what she was saying and she told him that she told her that she saw him come up to work a few weeks ago and ran outside to take pics of his wife and kids and to make sure he wasn't doing anything he wasn't supposed to mess up his workmens comp or something like that.

 

First of all, its not workmens comp. He didn't get hurt at work and he wanted to come back. He went to work dressed in scrubs just to get sent home every other day. So now he feels all the employees are all sitting around talking about his injury, time off, how it got paid for etc etc and now admitting to sneaking around taking pics of us to "catch him" doing something. But there is nothing to catch. I don't get it.

 

Is any of what these co-workers doing violating anything? Technically none of them should have known what happened to his arm or why he was off work and they all know or have some version of it. He was treated there at the ER and feels that them talking about his injury is violation Hipaa.

 

Also, he wonders if he should tell his manager about this co-worker and what she did.

 

Thoughts??

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I don't think anything would have to be leaked here ....his coworkers could just observe what's going on and draw their own gossipy conclusions. Its what ppl do best.

 

I'd feel free to talk to HR tho.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The only way this violates HIPAA is if his coworkers somehow got access to his medical records or personal health information without his permission. Just talking about his potential injuries isn't a violation of HIPAA.

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OP... since you posted your thread over a week ago, not sure if you're still reading, but if you are, here are my thoughts:

 

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Since you mentioned FMLA, I assume you are in the U.S.?

 

If so, the employees are not violating any laws but his EMPLOYER is.

 

I assume when your husband injured his arm he went to a doctor?

 

The doctor should have written a note specifying the period of time he would need to be out of work to recover and sent it to his employer.

 

After receiving the note, under Federal labor law, his employer cannot require or force him to report to work.

 

That is outrageous, I have never heard of anything so egregious and I have been working in employment law for a long time.

 

Upon receiving the note, his EMPLOYER fills out the FMLA paperwork.

 

FMLA allows an employee to be out of work for 90 days per calendar year without risk of being terminated.

 

FMLA does not require his employer pay him.

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Family and Medical Leave Act

 

FMLA requires your employer to keep your job open while you are gone, although it does not require your employer to pay you during this time. Under most circumstances, an employee may elect or the employer may require the use of any accrued paid leave (vacation, sick, personal, etc.) for periods of unpaid FMLA leave.

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Certain states (like California) have short term disability and if you live in a state that also has short term disability (which the employee pays into every month deducted from his paycheck)... then his DOCTOR fills out the short term disability paperwork and submits it to the State Disability and Compensation Board in your particular state.

 

And the STATE pays him. In CA, the state pays 60% of an employee's salary -- no taxes.

 

So from what you have written, his EMPLOYER violated all sorts of labor laws here and your husband should contact a labor/employment lawyer.

 

ETA: BTW, his employer has no say when he should return to work. That is his DOCTOR's decision to make.

 

This is in CA, so the state labor laws may be different in your state, but in any event, under Federal labor law, his employer is in violation, and being that his employer is a hospital, frankly I am shocked that this is how it went down.

Edited by katiegrl
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