Can my employer ask me why I am going to my doctor's appointment? Can she demand to know what my medical problem is or where my doctor is located? For the record, I have more than enough sick time and in the last 17 months I've taken two sick days off.

Yes, an employer has all those rights, which have nothing to do with HIPAA.

You could be contagious, or a danger to yourself, or to other employees or customers, from fainting or tripping or falling down the stairs, or performing your job in a way detrimental to the company. You could compromise the company's liability insurance.

As for faking a sickness, that's between you and your employer. You have no special rights.

Your employer is within their rights to require a doctors excuse after any sick leave or ask WHY... and many do after 2 days of it. You can thank other people who abuse sick leave.

You also need to read up on what HIPAA really is... and all it is, is prevent your doctor or their practice from releasing medical information directly to a third party without signed concent. That's all.


Summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule (http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/summary/index.html)

As noted, this has nothing to do with HIPAA. HIPAA governs what a medical practitioner can and cant' do with the information they have about a patient. Since your employer is not a medical practitioner or provider, they are not bound in any way by HIPAA.

So they can certainly ask, they can even require that you provide some info. They have a right to know if your medical issues will affect your employment. You can, of course tell them, that it won't, you can even have your doctor tell them without revealing what the issue is. But, they also have the right to terminate your employment for any reason.