Medical Inquires
The American With Disabilities Act (ADA) limits an employer's ability to make disability-related inquiries or require medical exams at three stages: pre- job offer, post- job offer, and during employment. A "disability-related inquiry" is a question (or series of questions) that is likely to elicit information about the applicant’s or employee’s disability. A "medical examination" is a procedure or test that seeks information about an individual's physical or mental impairments or health. Read more »
FOIA
Under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552, any person has a right to obtain access to federal agency records unless those records are exempted from public disclosure or excluded from the Act’s coverage. Under FOIA, there are nine (9) exemptions to disclosure and three (3) exclusions to protect law enforcement and national security records. Read more »
Privacy Act
Under the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, unless permitted under an exception, federal agencies are prohibited from disclosing records contained in a system of records pertaining to any person. Further, individuals may request their own records or request the federal agency amend their records under the Act. Read more »
Medical Records
As a general rule, an employer may not disclose or share your medical records or medical information. When an employer obtains medical information from applicants and employees, the employer must store the information on separate forms and in separate files and treat it as “confidential” information. Read more »
