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I work for a multi-billion dollar healthcare company. My role requires me to
maintain certifications and licensure through my state and county to be able to
legally preform my duties. Recently I tried taking my own life via a legally
prescribed controlled substance. This was an off duty occurrence. I voluntarily
informed my employer about the situation after my short recovery, as an
explanation for missing work. In short, my employer has chosen to pay for therapy, which is part of their administrative process to dealing with this situation. Along with requesting I have my physician sign a document explaining what I’m prescribed and that I am physically and mentally fit to preform. If I wanted to keep my job I had to follow along with their process. Approximately 2 weeks following this I received a letter from my county requesting a written explanation for my
Asked on March 11, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, California
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
Unlike a doctor or an attorney, your employer owes you no duty of confidentiality when it comes to disclosing information to the authorities about a possible criminal act (misuse of a controlled substance). They also have, as a healthcare company, obligations on them relating to not employing in potentially sensitive positions employees who may misuse controlled substances, and could face liabilty for covering up such misuse. Under the circumstances, it is very likely that your employer was allowed to--and possibly even was required to--to disclose this information and would therefore not be liable for doing so.
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