Does your employer violate hippa by telling an employee that you were suspended due to sleep apnea?
I have sleep apnea that causes daytime drowsiness. I was suspended for this reason. My employer told another employee I was suspended for sleeping on the job. Does this violate Hippa since it is medically related?
Tagged with: apnea • sleep • sleeping on the job
Filed under: Sleep Apnea Symptoms
"Joe was suspended for sleeping on the job" is perfectly legal.
"Joe suffers from sleep apnea" *may* be a HIPPA violation depending on how he found out.
Edit – jurydoc is partly wrong, which is why I said "depending on how he found out’. If your employer wholly or partly funds your medical insurance, and you were required to tell him about your condition as part of the insurance claim, then he IS covered by HIPAA. He ‘may’ also become HIPAA covered merely by ‘requiring’ you to tell him what is wrong with you in order to grant sick leave.
HIPAA is still new law, and is constantly evolving as the courts interpret it.
Richard
First of all, it is HIPAA, not HIPPA. Second, the entities covered by the legislation and, therefore, bound by its provisions, are health care providers, health plans and health care clearinghouses. Unless your employer is one of those, s/he is not required to keep your medical information private.
Layla you can be suspended or moved to a different position if your sleep apnea creates an unsafe work environment for the people working around you or if it effects your job. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and I was in the same exact position you are in about 6 years ago when i almost killed another worker because of my sleep disorder. Fortunately my boss found a temporary position where I was not a threat on the job and could be watched until I was treated by my therapist. If you are not permitted to work until you are treated then you should be eligible for disability but if you were suspended because you ignored warnings to get treated then you might not be eligible for benefits. Get it taken care of asap. Sleep apnea can result in death by you falling asleep and killing yourself or you even possibly stop breathing in your sleep. Whether your employer told someone about your condition is not the important matter here.