Employee Shared Too Much Info

gingerflwrs · September 2006

I have only been with my current company for 6 months, but have worked in HR for almost 15 years and have never come across this. I'm finding a lot of things that need correction, but this I have never come across!

I have "inherited" an employee that has suffered some severe medical problems (i.e., stroke, cancer) Since she had the stroke six years ago, she continues to have problems, however,the company has been more than accommodating to her. She understands this and is very appreciative to the company and for not firing her (not that it would).

My problem...in the past month she has informed me that she has had a reoccurence of cancer. She has only shared this information with me and does not want her supervisor or other employees to know. Before she knew the severity of the cancer we discussed the time she would need off, doctor's notes, etc. When I mentioned a "return to duty" note she became very nervous. She then said she needed to tell me something very confidential and she continued with "I am not supposed to be working. I have never brought in a note and the previous HR manager never asked." x:o

Well, when I picked myself up off of the floor, she further explained that her doctor (from stroke) does not want her to work and will not release her. However, she believes the work has helped her recover, which the doctor also agrees, but she does continue to suffer problems. (She takes naps in her car at lunch, cannot see in bright sun, to name a few.) Then realizing what she had divulged she said, "I never told you that. You don't know anything!"

I went through her file and found one "release to duty" note that has nothing to do with the illness but does release her to full duty. I have no idea what happened whith this woman.

Any suggestions on how to handle this? We are a privately-owned manufacturing company. I know I have an ethical responsibility to tell the owners, but how liable do I become for divulging this information which the employee shared believing I would not share it with anyone.:-S

Any suggestions are greatly appreicated.

R

stilldazed · September 2006

I have found myself in similar situations and can share what worked for me. I can also share my concern about exactly what my responsibility was, so there was a personal delimma to reconcile as well.

In my case, I actually did not disclose anything more than what was generally known--history of absences, employee working at an acceptable pace performing required/essential job duties, general knowledge of an illness with the employee. In a behind-the-scenes manner, I dug deeply into company policy, past precedents, and relevant legal/liability issues (FMLA, ADA, employee benefits issues). What I was able to do was put my mind at ease by establishing that my company had a policy of allowing return to work (including to restricted duty) in personal medical situations, even if they fell outside ADA. I managed to put together enough information for the worker and his/her medical provider to get a medical statement documenting a return to work for specific job duties that the employee could perform. I found that even though the doctor was somewhat resistant initially, the employee's insistance that returning to work provided an intrinsic reward of remaining functional was 'healthy' for the worker, and the physician eventually was willing to write down 'return to work as tolerated.' I felt like I had successfully done my part, although it was labor intensive, to cover my company's liability concerns and the employee's personal concerns.

I will admit that it was difficult, but I have managed to pull off similar activities a couple of times. Quite frankly, I have no idea whether what I did would survive a court challenge as none of the employee involved ever challenged, nor did coworkers who felt that there were not treated equivalently. However, I did document clearly circumstances in each case that could have been 'extenuating' thus leading my company to manage each case exceptionally.

As for my personal concern, I truly felt like I was in the unique position that HR professionals find themselves in from time to time--riding the fence between balance the needs of the organization with the needs of the employee and keeping myself on the side of ethically and legally correct. As for not disclosing details, had there been an element of danger to the employee or others, I would absolutely have responded differently. In my cases, however, there were no contagious diseases and no threats to the safety/welfare of others outside of the general run of the mill daily challenges that we all think about at 2:00 a.m. when we'd really rather be sleeping.

Best wishes.

gingerflwrs · September 2006

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. The steps you took are just another example of the dedication HR professionals must have for their line of work. I will definitely be putting your example to use.

Thanks again! R

Rockie · October 2006

If a physician advises that she should not work,then she is working against doctors' orders. If you know this, it is your obligation not to allow her to work unless she has clearance thru the physician. Most docs are very lenient about allowing employees to work, at least to some degree.

I can understand her not wanting others to know of her medical condition and that is her perogative..there is no need for anyone else to know the details. But you do have an obligation to her and the company not to allow her to work without a doctors' clearance.

Example: If an employee is put out on doctors' orders for 8 weeks after surgery and they tell you they feel fine and need to come back to work after 4 weeks and you allow it. What happens if this employee has some sort of relapse or complication because you allowed them to come back counter to doctors' orders? Who is at fault here?

I understand you are in a bad situation because the previous HR person did not require a doctors' return to work statement. I would ask the employee to get the physician to sign off on her working as this appears to be helping her to a degree. If there is a medical danger to the employee, I would not allow her to work.

Employee Shared Too Much Info

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