What Health Information Can Employers Require From Their Workers?

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – As more workers head back to the office, some will have to share medical information with their employers.

Is that a HIPAA violation? What health information can employers require from their workers? Good Question.

HIPAA, which stands for the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act, was passed in 1996. It was a federal law which created national standards for the protection of private patient health information being disclosed without the patient’s knowledge, including health care plans, health care clearing houses, as well as health care providers.

Currently, there is no federal law that addresses the issue of employers requiring vaccination. But the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued guidance in May which says employers can mandate vaccines as long as they can prove it’s job-related.

“Employers can mandate medical testing, which could include taking of temperatures, COVID testing if they determine that it is job-related and consistent with a business necessity,” said employment attorney Zaylor Stout.

There are, however, two exceptions: medical disability – which is covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act – and religious beliefs.

However, Stout said those exceptions have a high bar.

Stout also clarified that HIPAA really just applies to the disclosure of medical records, not so much what you can tell your employer.

“So here’s the example,” he said. “You have an employee, they come to work, do they pose an immediate and direct threat to all the coworkers? Yes. So the employer has the ability to try to prevent that from happening.”

Employers should not be asking any details in regards to a diagnosis.

Stout says it’s more common to see companies offer vaccine incentives rather than mandates. There is a bill that has been introduced in Minnesota’s state legislature that would ban vaccine mandates, but it has not gone anywhere.

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