An employee of ours recently requested time off for a dentist appointment. It was short notice and necessitated us securing a temp to fill the role during the employee's time off.

The question was posed, "Is this an emergency"?

Does posing this "yes/no" question violate the employee's rights in any way, shape or form?

It does not technically violate the employee's rights, But I also cannot figure out what difference the outcome of the question makes.

The time off is either paid or not paid according to company and/or state policy.

The employee in question had challenged our right to inquire as to the nature of the time off.

Due to re-occurring personnel issues, there is a possibility this employee may otherwise be terminated.

As the employee is in a "protected" class, we wanted to insure that the nature of the question was not an inadvertent violation of HIPPA or any other protected rights.

HIPAA certainly doesn't apply here - that defines what doctors can do.

If a person is requiring to be accommodated for a disablity or for FMLA then they would need to disclose the information. They are unwilling so if you have a valid reason for firing them, i.e. missing work without the required sick/vacation time to cover it, you have a valid reason to term them assuming you are in an 'employment at will' state, as most are.

The exceptions being contracted employees.

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Originally Posted by Stu737

The employee in question had challenged our right to inquire as to the nature of the time off.

Due to re-occurring personnel issues, their is a possibility this employee may otherwise be terminated.

As the employee is in a "protected" class, we wanted to insure that the nature of the question was not an inadvertent violation of HIPPA or any other protected rights.

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Let them not answer the question. Charge them with missed time.

"protected class" is not free reign for someone to do whatever they want. They are required to be as responsible as anyone else. Fire them and let them sue you. If the employee deserves to be fired, it doesn't matter what class they belong to.

Many thanks for the replies thus far. This is purely a situation where the employee was complaining that we (as the employer) had no right to ask if the dentist appointment in question was an emergency.

As a follow-up, could we have otherwise compelled the employee to reschedule their dentist appointment? i.e. denied the PTO request?

Assumptions: the employee does have accrued PTO available; the situation was otherwise NOT an emergency.

No, if an employee has acquired PTO, then you do have an obligation to allow for the time off pending appropriate approval and you do not have to right to inquire about their whereabouts.

Do you have a policy for time off during understaffed periods, finding a replacement for PTO?

Sounds like your employee feels defensive about his/her situation at work. However, that employee should have to request time off just like anyone else and be treated as equally as others. If others request time off at the last minute for a dentist appointment and there is no problem for them to do it, this employee should be allowed to as well. If this employee is in a protected class and feels like he/she is being discriminated against, then he/she would become defensive and maybe even be a problem at work.

In "At-Will" states, employees can quit or be let go for no reason. It means you can let someone go without a reason but it cannot be for illegal reasons. As an HR person, you should know the discrimination laws. If not, better learn them because most people in protected classes do know them. Check out the EEOC website.

I am not saying you are discriminating against this employee but if that employee feels that you are, there could be trouble down the road. Why not sit down and discuss how the employee feels and why he/she is having problems at work?

Not a lawyer but have felt descriminated against before!