Something they are hoping you don't consider is the fact that HIPPA does in fact extend to individual persons attempting to access your medical privacy. A violation does not have to just pin the company. You can and should file suit against anyone prying into your personal, private information. And more than likely, the company will try to distance themselves from the employee you are suing. This will flip the script on them when companies start struggling to employ fall guys.
EDIT: I really need to wake up more. The thought came to me so I shared it. You cannot discuss people's medical history or status unless they volunteer it, but even then you can still get in trouble if it turns out said someone didn't want that information volunteered. It does not only apply to medical professionals.
#1 this isnt true. #2 its HIPAA
Yea, HIPAA actually allows this. From the mandate:
"Even if HIPAA is implicated by the employer's disclosure of the OSHA Log, the statue and implementing regulation expressly permits the disclosure of protected health information to the extent required by law. See 45 CFR 164.512(a)."
Except the mandate isn't a law.
Do you think our courts and authorities actually care? It will be argued as law. Everything about regulation is all in our heads and determined at a whim by judges anyways.
Well here's the deal with that: courts are regional. Unless it becomes a Swampreme Court issue, it's irrelevant how one court rules in one place and another in a completely different place. I get that we have all been fooled to assume that because someone gets a verdict in one place that it will be the same everywhere else. That's not the case and these mandates likely will not go any higher than the various state levels.
If they do and the Courts legislate from the bench then... we know things are close to an end...
If someone asks for your status and you decline and they try to get an answer, they are liable. There are also provisions that prevent people from discussing other people's medical information.
Threatening to fire someone because they refuse to disclose their status is grounds for a retaliation and/or wrongful termination yes even in the so called "right to work" states.
The key provision of HIPAA in this scenario IMO is the 'necessary for business' part. Theyre trying to assert that covid status is key info which it obviously shouldnt be. Honestly i dont see much of a difference between covid and cooties at this point
And that's why I had this thought. Is to get people thinking. I may have my interpretations confused, and that's fine. We need to start rallying and pushing back in every way possible to end this bullshit.