Did you sign access to it as part of your employment contract? Sorry to say but theres a chance it's all legal as you may have consented to it.
Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?
41–50 of 93 posts
Re: Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?
#42Re: Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?
#43It is legal and normal(ish) in Austaralia [0] - talk to your doctors (immediately) they will have seen it before, lawyers will likely tell you to sign (I personally find emplyment lawyers the worst - my bias). [0] https://www.racgp.org.au/afp/2017/august/employment-law-a-gu... (not the best source but probably a more useful one than the actual legislation) My personal assumptions - It sounds like you have some or all…
Your link doesn't say "give your employer all your medical records", it says "if you take medical leave you need a certificate from a doctor". There's no obligation to prove you have no medical problems at all, if the employer has a compelling interest (ex. if OP is an airline pilot and they can't have a seizure disorder) they should provide a specific list of disqualifying conditions.
There's no job where ADHD is going to be disqualifying for health and safety reasons.
Re: Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?
#44I'm going to create a script called autoreply.pl if $title =~ m/^ask hn.*\b(employer|boss|hr)\b/i reply("Talk to a lawyer.")
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Re: Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?
#45We need more context to judge the situation, but, i don't see any reason why they should have access to your medical records. A letter from your doctor should be sufficient. Get a lawyer asap, don't sign anything, you might be in for a sweet settlement if they decide to fire you.
Re: Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?
#46"Software devs don't need unions!" - Hacker News
Unions dont care about isolated cases.
That's literally the entire point of unions.
For example, in the UK, the tube lines were brought to a screeching halt because TFL wanted to take disciplinary action against a driver that failed a breatherliser test. (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-31372269)
Re: Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?
#47It is legal and normal(ish) in Austaralia [0] - talk to your doctors (immediately) they will have seen it before, lawyers will likely tell you to sign (I personally find emplyment lawyers the worst - my bias). [0] https://www.racgp.org.au/afp/2017/august/employment-law-a-gu... (not the best source but probably a more useful one than the actual legislation) My personal assumptions - It sounds like you have some or all…
Your link doesn't say "give your employer all your medical records", it says "if you take medical leave you need a certificate from a doctor". There's no obligation to prove you have no medical problems at all, if the employer has a compelling interest (ex. if OP is an airline pilot and they can't have a seizure disorder) they should provide a specific list of disqualifying conditions. There's no job where ADHD is go…
KEY POINTS:
Where employers have concerns regarding the impact of an employee’s health on safety in the workplace, or there is uncertainty regarding adjustments required or the employee’s capacity to fulfil the inherent requirements of the job, employers can request employees to consent to obtaining further information from a treating practitioner – under threat of dismissal if necessary.
Can employers require additional medical information from a treating practitioner?
In certain circumstances, employers can require additional medical information from an employee’s treating practitioner. Employers have a non-delegable duty of care for the safety of anyone affected by their business operations. If the circumstances indicate that an employee’s health may have an impact on their safety at work, or that of third parties (eg co-workers), the employer has the right to clarify whether the employee’s circumstances can safely be accommodated.
Additional information may also be required to ascertain whether adjustments to the workplace can be made without detrimentally affecting the business, or to ascertain whether the employee is able to fulfil the inherent requirements of their position over the long term. In these circumstances, even if an employee is reluctant to provide the information, the employee – under a lawful threat of dismissal – can be directed to consent to provision of the information by their treating practitioner.
Re: Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?
#48It is legal and normal(ish) in Austaralia [0] - talk to your doctors (immediately) they will have seen it before, lawyers will likely tell you to sign (I personally find emplyment lawyers the worst - my bias). [0] https://www.racgp.org.au/afp/2017/august/employment-law-a-gu... (not the best source but probably a more useful one than the actual legislation) My personal assumptions - It sounds like you have some or all…
From your link…
”In many cases, employers have the right to seek further health information from their employees (eg for health and safety obligations), and employees can face disciplinary action and even dismissal if they are uncooperative.”
When I worked in a former UK colony in Asia I was kind of amazed I had to get a health exam and provide the results to my employer before starting.
Luckily the same country isn’t great on follow through so nobody bothered me when I didn’t do it.
Re: Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?
#49As others have said - it's invasive, and probably illegal. BUT - I feel like we're missing some context here. Is your reason for refusal based solely on privacy concerns, or that you don't want them to know you see a psychiatrist? Have you been underperforming and used your ADHD as justification/excuse as to why and they want some proof of that? You're mentioning the ADHD, so it must be relevant in some way, otherwis…
Yes, knowing the context would be interesting although probably irrelevant to the answer. I’d just quit, but calling a lawyer sounds right too. But for example it would be reasonable (albeit inappropriate) to ask medical records of someone taking paid sick days too often.
I suspect quitting leaves settlement money on the table. Not saying that's unreasonable, that's for everyone to decide for themselves and their situation. But the key imo is to lawyer up before taking any drastic action...
Re: Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?
#50I don't know Australian law but in some parts of the world this sounds like a sweet future settlement. Lawyer up ASAP - before Monday, before they do anything. Seek support from a local professional to know how exactly to handle this situation in your favor. To answer the question: I wouldn't ever do it. I have ADHD, there is nothing embarrassing in my med records but I would not trust any unrelated company (employer…
You must be American. One of the few places where a “sweet future settlement” is the most common outcome.
For many other places it’s fines for the employer, potential back pay and a settlement of a few tens of thousands (severance).