Judge Grants Medical Privacy Injunction

A federal judge in Ohio has granted a preliminary injunction against the city of Columbus, in response to a request from two dispatchers who claim that the police department’s sick leave practices violate several privacy laws and the Constitution. Dispatchers Carrie Best and Cheri Bowman say that the department’s paperwork procedures for absence-without-leave and sick leave put their medical information into the hands of supervisors, in violation of various federal laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act. The judge dismissed the city’s defense, and concluded that both women were likely to prevail in obtaining a permanent injunction on the matter, noting that there’s no compelling reason for the supervisor to have access to employees’ medical information. Download (pdf) the court’s order here, and see if your agency’s policies might also be affected.