QUESTION
I feel that my employer is violating the HIPAA law.
Asked on Aug 07th, 2017 on Labor and Employment - Florida
More details to this question:
I work for a very large company and in my department we provide records for legal processes served on us. For "quality assurance" the company installed software on our computers which allows them to record all of our activity. We were told that they will only be looking at items pertaining to the records request. During a review of my work I was shown the recordings and was taken aback by what all they could see. They could also see our web browsing to include the times we access the Human Resources portal that includes a lot of personal information. Just a few weeks before the meeting I accessed our health benefits and wanted to review my prescriptions. I also access information that has my social security number and bank account information. At any point any of the 12 supervisors can pull up a video where I accessed this info. My question is are they violating my privacy?
1 ANSWER
probably not. you do not have an expectation of privacy working on the company computer, especially where they have a written policy and inform you of this. Read this site: https://www.privacyrights.org/consumer-guides/workplace-privacy-and-employee-monitoring.
however using such information like your medical history and viewing or discussing it would be problematic. Going to external sites to further "investigate" you is also a problem.
But if you use your company computer for personal emails and that information is accessible now for your company, they would probably have a right to review it as well.
If there is any harm in anyway, then consult an attorney as this access will have some limits.
Answered on Aug 16th, 2017 at 5:48 AM
Nothing contained herein is meant to be legal advice to your particular question or to be a substitute for seeking a consultation with a lawyer and going over the facts and issues. I recommend that you Consult a lawyer in a consultation before taking any action based upon answers on this site.