Q: Is it against Hipaa laws for my employer to talk to anyone about me having a covid test & Require me to share my results

A: These are the most unusual of circumstances, and the rules are being written literally day by day.

You employer must know if one of its employees tests positive for the covid-19 virus, in order to protect anyone who may have come in contact with you in the last two weeks, in the event you test positive for the virus.

Your individual HIPAA rights to privacy may have to take a back seat in order to protect the health of the many.

A: HIPPA laws do not apply to your employer. That law relates to the medical and insurance industries primarily. However other medical privacy rights do exist.

There is no question that asking you about medical test results is a violation of medical privacy rights. And telling others without a strict need to know compounds that violation.

As with other area of medical privacy, the law does allow some intrusion into an employee's medical privacy if there is a compelling reason for the intrusion that outweighs the employee right to privacy, and as long as the method of carrying out the intrusion minimizes the privacy breach as much as reasonably possible. A good example of that is in the area of employee drug and alcohol testing. Doing a urine or blood test to find evidence of drugs or alcohol is undoubtedly an invasion of privacy, but the law has developed in that area to still allow it in certain conditions where the safety of the employee or others outweigh the individual employee's medical privacy rights. However in that arena, the employer must make all reasonable efforts to protect the dignity and privacy of the employee during the process, and the results can only be distributed to those with a need to know. It is a clear violation of privacy rights, for instance, to inform others in the organization that the employee failed the test unless those people have a strict need to know.

We are involved in times and events that are unprecedented. The law has not developed yet related to this issue, but often the law will move in the same direction as similar situations. I suspect your situation will eventually be guided by the laws related to workplace drug testing.

As such, I believe there are some things the employer is doing that are acceptable, and some that are a violation of your privacy rights. If you wish to pursue a legal claim related to the violations, it would be wise for you to locate and consult with an experienced employment law attorney as soon as possible to explore your facts and determine your options. I would suggest you look either on this site, or go to www.cela.org, the home page for the California Employment Lawyers Association, an organization whose members are dedicated to the representation of employees against their employers.

Most employment attorneys who practice this area of law offer a free or low cost consultation in the beginning and then, if the matter has merit and value, will usually agree to work on a contingency basis, meaning you can hire an attorney without paying any money until the matter results in a positive outcome for you. Many advance all the costs of the litigation as well. Do not let fear of fees and costs keep you from finding a good attorney.

Good luck to you.