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Medical Information

Employers, even those that do not self-insure or administer their own health plans, amass a considerable amount of medical information on their employees. The Americans with Disabilities Act places limits on the type of medical information that can be obtained from employees. After employment begins, medical information can be gathered only to the extent that it is job related and necessary. The ADA requires that employers keep information obtained from an employee medical exam or inquiry in a location apart from other personnel records and treat it as a confidential medical record. The OSH Act provides employees (and unions) with a right of access to medical and exposure records created in compliance with the act. A number of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards require medical monitoring of individual employees, as well as monitoring of the workplace for levels of exposure to toxic substances and harmful physical agents. Because occupational diseases can take a long time to develop, exposure records must be maintained for thirty years and medical records for the duration of employment plus thirty years. Medical records of short-term employees (less than one year) need not be retained as long as they are provided to those employees upon termination of employment. Unions and health professionals need the specific written consent of employees to have access to their personal medical records, but they can examine exposure records without obtaining consent. Medical privacy regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are also relevant. These regulations primarily affect health-care providers and self-insured companies. However, any employer that receives protected health information from insurers or health-care providers has obligations under the law. Parties with access to protected health information must limit the uses and disclosure of that information, train staff on maintaining the privacy of medical information and notify employees of their rights.