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An Overview Of Privacy Rights In The Workplace |
By:
Drey Peterson |
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There are so many things that employers need to consider and be concerned about in providing a safe working environment for employees. The larger the employer the more rules and regulations need to be in place to try to cover all the possible scenarios of what could happen that may injure an employee. State and federal laws constantly add regulations and recommendations for employers to implement. This can become very costly so this is when some employers start cutting corners and hope they do not get caught.
A few years ago the federal government issues new health care privacy regulations. These regulations, commonly referred to as HIPPA, not only effected the medical field, but also any agency company or corporation that may maintain a medical record in a personnel file or a case file. This is to help insure privacy rights in the work place for an employee that may have to bring a medical note regarding their ability to return to work after an injury or medical procedure, or medical information that may be supplied regarding the person?s need to have certain accommodations in order to complete their tasks. This means that an employer should not be announcing to other employees if one employee needs a certain chair or other accommodation in their work space. Privacy rights in the work place can be a challenge to maintain. In my last employment situation we had one worker that was a constant complainer. No matter what the situation was they would be able to find fault with it. Their complaints often times resulted in special privileges and accommodations. This person had a way of getting on everyone?s nerves because of their constant complaining. One day this person complained that another employee was given a new chair in their work space. They went to the manager to complain. When he returned he announced to anyone that would listen that the employee with the new chair had a note from a doctor to get the chair. The person with the new chair immediately knew that their privacy rights in the work place had been violated. It was no one else?s business why they needed a new chair. The employee with the new chair went to the manager and accused them of violating their privacy. The manager apologized and admitted that he just want to get the complainer out of his office so he had blurted out about the doctor?s note. The injured employee did not pursue any legal action, however they could have. An employer cannot discuss one employee with another because of privacy rights in the workplace. There are times when this works against employers because rumors may start and they are not allowed to clear them up with facts because they cannot share any information.
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Article Source: http://www.friendsofvista.org/articles/article25333.html |
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