Can I sue for wrongful termination and a violation of HIPPA?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can I sue for wrongful termination and a violation of HIPPA?
I called in sick to work 24 hours before my next shift and went to the doctor; I was provided a doctor’s note for 2 days. My boss then demanded my discharge paperwork with my personal medical information on it. I refused and he snatched the discharge papers from my hand, showed it to another employee, discriminated against me for the illness in front of this employee and told me to go home. The next morning he called me and fired me but refused to disclose why. Mine is an at-will state, however he discriminated me based off of my medical information and shared my personal information without my consent. Can I sue for wrongful termination or for the HIPPA violation?
Asked on September 29, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Oklahoma
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
First of all HIPPA only apply to health insurers, HMO's, Medicare, Medicaid and long-term care insurers. It also applies to all health care providers who transmit patient health information in electronic form and companies that process and translate medical information into a standard electronic format. Accordingly, unless this is the type of employer that you workd for, your employer's conduct in disclosing your medical information was not a violation of HIPPA. As for wrongful termination, that only applies if your company's actions violated the terms of an employment contract/union agreement or in some way constitued a form of actionable discriminaton. As to the later, your treatment must have been due to your race, religion, age (over 40), gender, disability, nationality, etc. Since you gave no indication of this, specifically that your illness was due to a recognized disabiltiy, you have no claim here. The fact is that an employer can set the conditions of the workplace much as it sees fit.
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
First of all HIPPA only apply to health insurers, HMO's, Medicare, Medicaid and long-term care insurers. It also applies to all health care providers who transmit patient health information in electronic form and companies that process and translate medical information into a standard electronic format. Accordingly, unless this is the type of employer that you workd for, your employer's conduct in disclosing your medical information was not a violation of HIPPA. As for wrongful termination, that only applies if your company's actions violated the terms of an employment contract/union agreement or in some way constitued a form of actionable discriminaton. As to the later, your treatment must have been due to your race, religion, age (over 40), gender, disability, nationality, etc. Since you gave no indication of this, specifically that your illness was due to a recognized disabiltiy, you have no claim here. The fact is that an employer can set the conditions of the workplace much as it sees fit.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.