So, a little background: My friend was a little shocked and upset when they came to me about work. They're really confused about what happened when they called out sick not too long ago.
My friend called out sick one day, and at their work, they report to two different managers above them. They tell the first boss that they have to call out, and per corporate protocol, they have to produce a doctor's note on the same day to show they are negative for Covid. They do that, and has a note that excuses them from work until a couple days from then (it wasn't a condition that was catching, it turns out). On that same first day, the first manager gives the approval, and says nothing else In the matter.
They contact their substitute and keep in touch with them as they recuperate. The second day they're out, their substitute reiterates to them for the first manager that they can't come back any earlier, and need to be “symptom-free”. No context as to what that means from the first boss.
Well, first boss had off on the third day, and so they had to report to the second manager in what they were supposed to do on coming back, because it was then that the second manager told my friend thru the substitute that they needed a second doctor's note that specifically said what they were out sick with ” in order to return to work”. Luckily for them, the walk-in clinic that they got tested with was still open, and a nurse answered the phone. When my friend explained to the nurse why they needed the note right away, the nurse didn't miss a beat and said, “That's illegal. They cannot ask you what you had, and cannot ask for a note from the doctor about what it was.”
My friend talked to them some more and ended up with a note from that doc's office that had the bare minimum of information on it, and turned it in to their second manager that evening. When they got home and told their family, their family repeated the same thing: The manager shouldn't have held their job hostage like that for something that skirted around HIPAA.
Then, on the fourth day when they came back, they asked that second manager for some more information to see what them and corporate saw from this situation. My friend asked that manager if something was wrong with the first doc note that only stated that they were excused from work until the fourth day. The manager said, “Yes, it wasn't good enough because it didn't explain what you had.” So then the manager told them that it had to do with the new variant going around that doesn't get picked up on the first Covid test. So, corporate wanted proof that it wasn't that because the doctor had given my friend a note that said they were excused for so many days. Then my friend told their manager about what the nurse said. The manager then answered, “That is wrong. It's not against HIPAA to ask the person to provide that information. It's against HIPAA to get that information directly from the doctor without the patient's knowledge. You (my friend) are not required to give us that information, and you were allowed to deny us that note. But you can volunteer that information without it being against the law.”
Now my friend is royally pissed off because they are confused. They could've denied giving that information, but because the bosses said they couldn't come back to work until then, they really didn't have a choice in the beginning. At least, that's what they think. I personally don't have much info on HIPAA law, but I'm confused myself about this entire fiasco. I really wanna help, but I don't know what to say. Was it really against the law, was this just something corporates are scrambling to do nowadays, is this something to seek professional help with?
Anybody who knows about HIPAA or about corporate boundaries would be a huge help in putting in their two cents. Really appreciate it!