What sort of information sought in a medical release form is relevant, and what is not? Ask Cummins Power Generation. After a set-to with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the company is finding out quite a bit about the relevancy of information requested of employees.
The EEOC has sued Cummins because, it alleges, the company asked "irrelevant" and "overly broad" disclosures of an employee who was undergoing a fitness-for-duty exam. The employee refused to sign the forms, claiming the information wasn't related to the exam. Cummins fired him.
That's when the EEOC stepped in.
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The EEOC said in its suit that the requirement that the employee sign the "overly broad release" put Cummins in the position of "making disability-related inquiries that were not job-related or consistent with business necessity."
That, said the EEOC, violates the Americans With Disabilities Act.
See also: 5 ways to avoid ADA leave traps
But that's not all, the EEOC said. Family medical history disclosures sought by the release would have been a violation of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. And, by firing the employee over failure to sign, Cummins essentially once again violated both acts.
See also: EEOC racks up its first genetic info win
The EEOC cited Title I of the ADA, which prohibits disability discrimination in employment, and Title II of GINA, which prohibits the acquisition of genetic information, as the basis for its suit. The agency said it decided to sue only after attempts to settle the matter with Cummins failed.
"The EEOC doesn't challenge Cummins' request for a fitness-for-duty examination, but Cummins had an obligation to request only those medical records and information that actually pertained to that issue," said John Hendrickson, regional attorney for the EEOC's Chicago district. "Employees don't give up all rights to privacy of their medical information when they get a job. By asking for all and sundry medical information, Cummins went too far. The EEOC is here to make sure employers follow the requirements of ADA – and of GINA, which is a newer statute that everyone needs to understand and observe."
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
