Legal Question in Disability Law in California
Release of Medical Records to Employer
I am a qualified disabled person, covered under the ADA. I have been on a leave of absense for the past 8 months, due to my disablity. During the first 2 months of my leave, I was pregnant and suffered complications, then lost the baby. I have had 6 knee surgeries (2 during the last 6 months) and will need at least one more; Dr says that I am permanently disabled but that I can most likely return to work in Sept. He will not allow me to return to work or telecommute, or any other accomodation, I must be off of full duty. I also have herniated discs on L5/S1 and am to get cortisone and epidural treatments for. I am covered under my employers short term and long term disability plan-short term will run out in 3 more months. The disability co has access to my medical records to verify my disability. Today my work sent me a letter asking for authorization to give HR access to all of my medical records. It says that it's ''voluntary'' that I sign this form, but then it says ''I understand that my continued employment are subject to my agreement of this authorization'', then it goes on to say that it's not ''protected under federal law''. My question is do I have to sign this? Could they fire me if I did not sign it? Why would I sign it? Thx!
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Release of Medical Records to Employer
You do not have to sign anything, as your medical information is confidential and you can prevent your employer from knowing the details about your medical disability but why would you want to?
You need to understand that under state and federal disability laws, the employer need only "reasonably accommodate" an employee's disability. In order to do so, the employer needs to engage in an interactive process in which the employee helps the employer understand the nature of the disability and what the employer can do to reasonably accommodate that disability. If you keep the employer in the dark, you are making it easy for them to justify the decision to terminate you.
You already are in serious jeopardy. Very few cases have required employers to keep a job open for an employee as long as yours has. Medical leaves of absence can be considered a form of reasonable accommodation, but they generally are for a relatively short and fixed period of time. It is rare that the employer will allow an employee to take 8 months and more off due to a disability. This may be due to established plans they have in place. If so, a careful review of the plan is necessary for a more accurate opinion.
You should discuss this with an experienced labor law attorney in your area to help you decide what to do.
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