Fitness for duty - new one for me
marc
3,126 Posts
This is a long one. Please bear with me if I include to much information.
EE is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and has been with us a couple of months (no FML). Calls his supervisor and explains he is in the emergency room with blood in his urine and won't be in today. We cancelled appointments with his clients for today.
Later in the day we get a call from an agency wanting to verify employment for this EE. We ask for the signed release authorizing us to give out information. We get a four page faxed document showing this EE was involuntarily checked into a local mental hospital. One of the provisions allow them to verify employment and insurance (the insurance is the real reason they called us). Once in, this facility does not allow the patient to have any outside contact. These stays can be anywhere from 24 hours to several months.
We plan to cancel his appointments tomorrow trying to be cautious about his clients. Then we plan on requiring him to bring in a medical certificate clearing him to work. Keeping in mind that his story is the blood in the urine thing, is it OK for me to require a release from the mental hospital clearing him to work? I would wait until he attempt to return, give him the job description and have the staff at the hospital fill certify his ability to return.
How much can I tell his supervisor? Seems like a need to know exists here - if nothing else, then to protect the clients trying to get therapy.
Perspective is appreciated. Sorry for the length, this is new to me.:-S
EE is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and has been with us a couple of months (no FML). Calls his supervisor and explains he is in the emergency room with blood in his urine and won't be in today. We cancelled appointments with his clients for today.
Later in the day we get a call from an agency wanting to verify employment for this EE. We ask for the signed release authorizing us to give out information. We get a four page faxed document showing this EE was involuntarily checked into a local mental hospital. One of the provisions allow them to verify employment and insurance (the insurance is the real reason they called us). Once in, this facility does not allow the patient to have any outside contact. These stays can be anywhere from 24 hours to several months.
We plan to cancel his appointments tomorrow trying to be cautious about his clients. Then we plan on requiring him to bring in a medical certificate clearing him to work. Keeping in mind that his story is the blood in the urine thing, is it OK for me to require a release from the mental hospital clearing him to work? I would wait until he attempt to return, give him the job description and have the staff at the hospital fill certify his ability to return.
How much can I tell his supervisor? Seems like a need to know exists here - if nothing else, then to protect the clients trying to get therapy.
Perspective is appreciated. Sorry for the length, this is new to me.:-S
Comments
A licensed therapist INVOLUNTARILY checked into a mental hospital! We had a cop who was arrested for domestic violence and was asked to resign.
Is this therapist a counselor? If he is in the hospital for evaluation, then I would require a release for him to work - based on his job description. If he's in for treatment, I would do the same. This is one I would run by our attorney.
then you are in the clear to let him return.
supervisor has no need to know other than the man was ill.
check with local law enforcemtn to see if the employee was arrested for something. (this is a good possibility as "involuntary commitment" usually involves the law to some extent.
i wouldn't make a big thing out of it as he may very well have had blood in his urine and may have been terribly embarassed about his circumstances.
I've never had a situation where the supervisor didn't already know, so I won't advise you on that aspect of your situation.
Situation update: My payroll and benefits clerk called the mental hospital to verify employment and insurance. The receptionist was very chatty about this EE. Apparently some of the staff did not beleive he even had insurance, even though he produced an insurance card, and they thought the verification would put that doubt to rest. She went on to talk about how "he would be fine once his meds were balance out. He was just having a crying jag."
I may need to call their HR or CEO about their own HIPPA compliance. Seems like they are really exposed to liability.
Also, they did let the EE make a phone call. His Supervisor forwarded the voicemail to me in which he claimed to be in the regular hospital with a bleeding ulcer and should be OK in a few days with diet and exercise types of things needing to be addressed.
He is trying to pull off some sort of charade with respect to what is really going on. I will be treading lightly, but firmly with respect to getting the medical release to return to work.
An attorney might help if your procedures are not detailed to help you march through the minefield.
Keep us posted! Very interesting, I have a mechanic on FMLA (Mental disfuntion)about to run out of 12 weeks and not back as yet.
PORK
The lying bugs me also, I am sure he is just trying to keep a low profile, but it will come to light when he is required to bring in the medical certification to return to duty, and I further require it to come from the right source.
The responses to the lying got me thinking about whether or not it is covered in our handbook. It is addressed in one section about filing false harassment claims - other than that, we have one mention of dishonesty in our code of ethics.
Looks like I need to work this in. Code of ethics looks like a good place, also the suggestion of incorporating it right into the absenteeism and tardiness section makes some sense.
The receptionist needs to be shot. (figuratively, not literally)
A clinical therapist who sees a need to lie about his disability to his employer is, IMHO, in need of adjustment to disability therapy.
While I am not an expert in this field, I will say our organization has significant interaction with this mental hospital. And while it is not always the case, many of the involuntary admissions have associated with a person who is suicidal or having an extreme drug problem. This EE does not present symptoms of drug use, but again, I am not an expert.
The adjustment to disability therapy sounds interesting, but again, I would defer to experts about a course of treatment. Thanks for the input.