Discriminated against at work for having Hep.C

[Lisa Mather]

Jurisdiction

Georgia

I was hired on October 18, 2016 at Golden Corral in Warner Robins, Ga. I have only work for about three weeks and my daughter works there as well. My daughter comes to me one day after work and tells me that my boss asked her if I had Hep.C. My daughter answers by saying she doesn't know the answer to that question, but why do you ask? My boss tells her that a customer came in and saw me put their plate down and walked over to him told him I had Hep.C and walked out. He told her this wasn't the first time that it happened that he had two other customers walk out prior to this. I was very upset and totally embarrassed. The next morning I was scheduled to be at work at 9am. at 8am my boss calls me and says Lisa we have a problem, do you have Hep.C? I told him no and he said that I must get a letter from my doctor stating that I do not have Hep.C. before I can return to work.
I thought that this was illegal for him to talk to my daughter first about this, also felt that asking me if I had Hep. C. was an illegal question and asking me to bring in doctor's note stating that I did not have Hep.C. was illegal. I do have Hep.C and cannot give him a doctor's note and I have not returned to work,this happened on Monday October 31, 2016.
Lisa

 

[army judge]

I removed your email address and phone numbers to protect your privacy, because you never know who or what will take note of them and cause you harm.

To your question, hope this helps.
,
,
,
Disclosing Hep C Status in the Workplace
,
,
,
Forum on Workplace and Insurance Issues: revealing hiv to employers
.
.
.
You might wish to consult a GA based attorney and discover your rights in this sticky situation. A message board can only offer you suggestions, while a GA lawyer can assist you with action.

,
,

Hepatitis C FAQs for the Public | Division of Viral Hepatitis | CDC

,
,

 

[cbg]

You are wrong about the questions being illegal.

 

[adjusterjack]

I do have Hep.C and cannot give him a doctor's note and I have not returned to work,this happened on Monday October 31, 2016.

Had you told the truth you might have been able to educate your employer and keep your job.

But you lied to your employer so you are out of a job now with no recourse.

File for unemployment and see how that goes although lying to your employer might be misconduct that disqualifies you.

By the way, how did anybody know you had it?

 

[Betty3]

You can certainly be terminated for not telling the truth - it would have been better had you been honest.

 

[Kit Cat]

Hi,

I am new here, this is my first post.

I'm not an expert in this area, but I definitely agree with you that your employer should not have disclosed health information to your daughter. I feel like this would be a HIPAA violation.

I also think he acted improperly by requiring you to disclose medical details, but it may depend on the job and the workplace policy. I think this may violate ADA under some circumstances.

The question is....what do you do next? And the answer, sadly, is I know nothing about employment law so I don't know the answer.

_________________________________________________

this is where you file an ada complaint:
Request Rejected

this is where you file an hipaa complaint:
Filing a HIPAA Complaint

I'm not sure exactly the path to getting your job back though. Here's more general info.

Pre-Employment Inquiries and Medical Questions & Examinations

"Once a person is hired and has started work, an employer generally can only ask medical questions or require a medical exam if the employer needs medical documentation to support an employee's request for an accommodation or if the employer has reason to believe an employee would not be able to perform a job successfully or safely because of a medical condition.

The law also requires that the employers keep all medical records and information confidential and in separate medical files."

 

[cbg]

Not all or even most employers are subject to HIPAA. Restaurants are not. If the information about the OP's medical condition did not come from their self-insured health insurance plan, HIPAA does not apply.

Not only does it NOT violate the ADA to require the release of medical information, the ADA expressly permits the employer to have sufficient information to determine what accommodations might be required and to confirm these details with her doctor.

It is absolutely legal to fire an employee for lying to the employer about their medical condition (or anything else).

Since by your own admission you do not know employment law, and since just about everything you said is wrong, perhaps it would be better if you not answer employment law questions.