HapHee
Sep 30, 2012, 08:03 AM
I was recently out on medical leave for surgery on my foot. I had only disclosed it to HR as they needed to process paperwork for insurance/short term disability. The doctor's paperwork did not go into specific detail either. However within my dept. my manager knew I was going out on leave for as it was a 6-week leave and I had casually mentioned it to another colleague let's call her "Tanya", also in my dept.
After I returned to work I had a phone conversation with somoneone from one of our regional offices whom I speak to only on an occasional basis or when something needs to be resolved.
During the call, she asked me how my "XYZ" was doing. I said fine but asked her how in the world she knew I had XYZ done? She jokingly told me she had been reading all about my XYZ in our quarterly newsletter (of course she was just joking). Yes, it was funny and I did burst out laughing but really it was not OK as it made me realize someone from HR let the cat out of the bag. After I stopped laughing I asked who told her and that's when she sensed the alarm of concern in my voice. Even though she tried to soothe me by saying "Listen I honestly can't remember how I found out but really, all of us should have our XYZ done especially when we get to this age.", by then it was really too late as I now knew this piece of sensitive info had managed to get all the way out to her 3,000 miles away! Needless to say even after the laughter died down, I was quite mortified to know all about this .
On top of all this: I HAPPEN TO WORK IN THE HR DEPARTMENT!!!. and believe it or not - I am supposed to be a "watchdog" for things like this... my manager and "Tanya" are all part of the HR dept...
Was a HIPAA violation committed from within HR - my own dept? Did someone in HR possibly volunteer that info in order to explain why I was out for that period? Do I have any recourse of action? My company is a financial institution.
After I returned to work I had a phone conversation with somoneone from one of our regional offices whom I speak to only on an occasional basis or when something needs to be resolved.
During the call, she asked me how my "XYZ" was doing. I said fine but asked her how in the world she knew I had XYZ done? She jokingly told me she had been reading all about my XYZ in our quarterly newsletter (of course she was just joking). Yes, it was funny and I did burst out laughing but really it was not OK as it made me realize someone from HR let the cat out of the bag. After I stopped laughing I asked who told her and that's when she sensed the alarm of concern in my voice. Even though she tried to soothe me by saying "Listen I honestly can't remember how I found out but really, all of us should have our XYZ done especially when we get to this age.", by then it was really too late as I now knew this piece of sensitive info had managed to get all the way out to her 3,000 miles away! Needless to say even after the laughter died down, I was quite mortified to know all about this .
On top of all this: I HAPPEN TO WORK IN THE HR DEPARTMENT!!!. and believe it or not - I am supposed to be a "watchdog" for things like this... my manager and "Tanya" are all part of the HR dept...
Was a HIPAA violation committed from within HR - my own dept? Did someone in HR possibly volunteer that info in order to explain why I was out for that period? Do I have any recourse of action? My company is a financial institution.