Post-offer medical examinations and inquiries:
• An employer must keep medical information on applicants or employees confidential.
• Supervisors and managers may be told about necessary job restrictions and accommodations;
• First aid and safety personnel may be told if the disability might require emergency treatment;
Can I Disclose Information from a Medical Examination?
All information obtained from post-offer medical examinations and inquiries must be collected and maintained on separate forms, in separate medical files and must be treated as a confidential medical record. Medical information must not be placed in an individual’s personnel file. The employer should take steps to guarantee the security of the employee’s medical information, including:
• keeping the information in a medical file in a separate, locked cabinet, apart from the location of personnel files; and
• designating a specific person or persons to have access to the medical file.
Can I Share the Medical Information with Anyone?
An employer must keep medical information on applicants or employees confidential, with the following limited exceptions:
• supervisors and managers may be told about necessary job restrictions and accommodations;
• first aid and safety personnel may be told if the disability might require emergency treatment;
• government officials investigating the ADA must be given relevant information on request;
• employers may give information to state workers’ compensation offices, state second injury funds or workers’ compensation insurance carriers in accordance with state workers’ compensation laws; and
• employers may use the information for insurance purposes. Medical information may be given to and used by decision makers involved in the hiring process so that they can make employment decisions consistent with the ADA. In addition, the employer can use the information to determine reasonable accommodations for the individual.
Check out the following fact sheet from the Northwest ADA Center for more information: