dueling exes

Irie

With regards to an employee's privacy, how far do you take the request of an EE's ex-spouse when they call you requesting information about the EE and the benefits? Quite often I get ex-wives calling to request insurance ID cards for the kids because the ex-husband won't provide the cards to the ex.

Not knowing these women, I really hesitate to respond and usually inform them they should contact their ex to resolve the situation. I don't want to be put in the middle and I don't want to speak to a total stranger and give information without any proof that I'm really talking to the ex. Nor do I want to order insurance cards and put them in the hands of someone I don't know.

Just wondering what others do. Thanks.

davids

I would be cautious even if you confirm that the requestor is the ex-spouse. We get similar requests from both current and ex-spouses. In some cases the spouse is also an employee. I should also note that we are a public employer, so some information on employees is public information. We would not provide non-public information to anyone without written permission from the employee or a subpoena. This includes current spouses, even those who also work for us.

ACU Frank

I give them the phone number and employer ID for the insurance company. If someone there slips up, I don't care. :angel:

(Added via edit)

If the kids are on the policy through a court order, check the order. It sometimes makes it your responsibility to get this info to the guardian of the children. Gotta love it when the local child support enforcement folks tell you to ignore HIPAA!