Can HR share medical leave information with Supervisors?

The Administrator of the corporate office wants me to cc supervisors on all notices sent to their employee's who are on protected leaves of absence, to keep them abreast of timelines and when to expect their employee's back. Isn't this illegal, as this is protected information between Human Resources and the employee? Human Resources should only be advising the supervisor of approximate or definite dates of return, correct?

You may inform other employees or management of the employee's leave of absence, but you must neither ask the employee seeking leave for the exact reasons/diagnosis of the medical condition necessitating leave nor disclose such condition, if known to you, to other employees or management in the company.

Whether it be HR, or another Department within the Company - you are all part of the "The Company" and communication within the Company is important to ensure that Company EEs are treated according to the law. If the supervisor's don't know about the protected leaves - how can they possibly operate their department and ensure they are doing the right thing visa vis the employee. There is no "HR" and EE privilege that I am aware of, unless the information itself is protected by specific privacy laws, such as specific medical information or payroll information. The mere dates of protected leave is not one of those areas. HR should be coordinating between the EE and the workplace so that everything operates smoothly and everyone is on the same page regarding the protected leave time periods. If time periods change - it is up to HR as the interface, to inform those in The Company what is going on as well as the EE.

Contact The Author

Neil Klingshirn
AV rated Super Lawyer and Employment Law Specialist
Independence, OH
Phone: 216-382-2500

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