Is your company’s handling of medical information compliant with rules enacted under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)?

There are several ways employers may come into possession of medical information. First, regulations administered by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) provide that an employer may require a medical examination and/or inquiry after making an offer of employment to a job applicant and before the applicant begins his or her duties. The employment offer may be conditioned on the results of the examination and/or inquiry if all entering employees in the same job category are subjected to the same, regardless of disability.

Second, the ADA rules acknowledge that there may be instances when an employer requires a medical examination and/or inquiry of a current employee. These must be job-related and consistent with business necessity. The employer may inquire into the ability of an employee to perform job-related functions.

Finally, an employer may conduct voluntary activities, including medical examinations and medical histories, as part of an employee health program.

In each of these instances the employer’s examinations and inquiries will naturally produce personal medical information. This information must be retained somewhere. The ADA rules speak to how this is done and to limitations on the use of the information.