October 5, 2021
Brothers and Sisters,
I hope everyone is safe and in good health. These are very trying times for us all. The current public health crisis has caused great unease and raised increasing questions surrounding our future and the issues related to COVID-19. I want to assure everyone I am staying up to date on every emerging facet of this topic and what each means for our membership.
Copied into this memo are some questions and answers concerning HIPPA and the ability of an employer to mandate a vaccination status. These Q&As come from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Please rest assured that IBEW Local 647 will continue to do everything we possibly can to prevent corporate or government overreach. While we do not believe in mandatory vaccinations, we are bound by federal law.
Should a mandatory vaccination be mandated, we have already submitted a request to bargain with the company on any specifics regarding vaccinations, exemptions, incentives, testing, cost, and any other topics that could arise from those discussions. Please be safe and feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have.
Fraternally yours,
Brian Erwin
Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule prevent customers or clients of a business from disclosing whether they have received a COVID-19 vaccine?
No. The Privacy Rule does not prevent any individual from disclosing whether that individual has been vaccinated against COVID-19 or any other disease. The Privacy Rule does not apply to individuals’ disclosures about their own health information. It applies only to covered entities and, to some extent their business associates. Therefore, the Privacy Rule does not apply when an individual tells another person, such as a colleague or business owner, about their own vaccination status.
- Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule prohibit an employer from requiring a workforce member to disclose whether they have received a COVID-19 vaccine to the employer, clients, or other parties?
No. The Privacy Rule does not apply to employment records, including employment records held by covered entities or business associates in their capacity as employers. Generally, the Privacy Rule does not regulate what information can be requested from employees as part of the terms and conditions of employment that an employer may impose on its workforce. However, other federal or state laws do address terms and conditions of employment. For example, federal anti-discrimination laws do not prevent an employer from choosing to require that all employees physically entering the workplace be vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide documentation or other confirmation that they have met this requirement, subject to reasonable accommodation provisions and other equal employment opportunity considerations. Documentation or other confirmation of vaccination, however, must be kept confidential and stored separately from the employee’s personnel files under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). - Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule prohibit a covered entity or business associate from requiring its workforce members to disclose to their employers or other parties whether the workforce members have received a COVID-19 vaccine?
No. The Privacy Rule does not apply to employment records, including employment records held by covered entities and business associates acting in their capacity as employers. Thus, the Privacy Rule generally does not regulate what information can be requested from employees as part of the terms and conditions of employment that a covered entity or business associate may impose on its workforce, such as the ability of a covered entity or business associate to require its workforce members to provide documentation of their vaccination against COVID-19 or to disclose whether they have been vaccinated to their employer, other workforce members, patients, or members of the public.
For example, the Privacy Rule does not prohibit a covered entity or business associate from requiring or requesting each workforce member to:
• Provide documentation of their COVID-19 or flu vaccination to their current or prospective employer.
• Sign a HIPAA authorization for a covered health care provider to disclose the workforce member’s COVID-19 or varicella vaccination record to their employer.
• Wear a mask–while in the employer’s facility, on the employer’s property, or in the normal course of performing their duties at another location.
• Disclose whether they have received a COVID-19 vaccine in response to queries from current or prospective patients.
Other federal or state laws address whether an employer may require a workforce member to obtain any vaccinations as a condition of employment and provide documentation or other confirmation of vaccination. These laws also address how employers must treat medical information that they obtain from employees. For example, documentation or other confirmation of vaccination must be kept confidential and stored separately from the employee’s personnel files under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).