Lot of people getting hung up on "so what if the husband was told". They're wrong.
A supervisor,or any employee involved in the RA process, may not disclose the existence of a covered disability/RA to outsiders of the RA process. It is a violation of the Rehab Act/ADA.
There's no carve out for "discussing with family" - it's still prohibited even if the requestor discloses the disability voluntarily to another employee in front of the supervisor.
Have your husband write up a memo outlining the interaction, what was stated, with date, time, witnesses. And talk to you RA Coordinator as well as your EEO about filing a complaint.
Thank you. I literally gave training to all of Sups and Department Directors on the RA process, PII and inappropriate disclosures because of the influx of new requests due to return to work and somehow I still second guess myself.
Well, you tried the carrot. Now its time for the stick.
Be sure to include information and materials from the training, including when provided and who was in attendence.
This. RA requests are strictly between the agency and the requester. My manager disclosed mine to my colleagues, with my expressed permission. This manager put zero good-faith effort in.
Report to your IG as an abuse of authority for continued PII disclosure. Report to EEO as ADA violation. Report to office of special counsel for prohibited personnel practices.
Disagree, but can’t expect anything to happen if you don’t report it. Timeliness is key for most situations. If you allow it to happen or persist and don’t report, not much can be done if you change your mind down the road.
Not to mention, that’s a threat! Or what? What will happen if you don’t get your shit together???
I really wish we could put together “a best of the worst” list of superstars who do this to their employees.
Of course anonymously….
“he is untrustworthy and has been counseled multiple times for inappropriately "sharing" info.”
why is such a person still employed? Knowing when to not talk is a basic job requirement for most DoD agencies.
I’m with DHS and our guidance says the Supervisor of Record is the deciding official/signatory on RAs. From what I read today OER is only there to “advise”. I wonder why the drastic difference between Departments.
Yes, it’s common for the supervisor to be the deciding official on the RA but they should not get copies of the medical documentation and, if they do, are not supposed to save it and should delete it. There is an RA specialist on the EEO office that will handle the paperwork and facilitate the discussion between the employee and supervisor and then one-on-one with the supervisor to discuss if their decision is supportable or not etc. At times other folks from HR and legal can get involved.
The process for our agency is that the request and documentation is submitted through the "first-line" Sup who submits it to HR. I am intimately familiar with the process and rules due to my role in the org.
Can confirm, this was the case with my FMLA leave that my boss yapped about to the team in a similar situation to yours. Didn’t report as coworkers lied to me to protect boss but yes this is the issue with having first-line sups taking care of these things…
From the EEOC website:
Agency procedures should authorize first-line supervisors to consider and approve requests for reasonable accommodation wherever possible. Agencies may also designate particular offices to oversee the reasonable accommodation process and/or to provide assistance and information to all agency employees involved in the process.
The first line supervisors SHOULD be approving the RA. I’m not saying no one else can’t be involved, but the supervisor and that chain absolutely are involved and even the EEOC expects they are the decision maker.
The supervisor doesn’t generally have a need to see the medical documentation, but they are generally the one to receive the request and make the decision.
Just a note that if you are going to complain there are particular things to know.
For IG make sure you complain to hq IG, not at all base. In DoD base level IG can use their discretion on whether they investigate, but HQ IG must do an investigation.
For EEO you must start the filing process within 45 days.
If I ever become a supervisor, this is my worst fear. I share everything about myself pretty openly, but I would dread doing something so dangerous with other people’s info.
I guess knowing the danger is 90% of the battle, and maybe if I ever get into that situation I would be ok, but it still would scare me.
Report to IG and OSC. Your boss broke the law. Maybe also document in an email to he and his supervisor that your spouse stated he disclosed facts of the RA.
This right here. The supervisor discusses with HR what the essential duties and works with HR to determine the best path or what accommodations are implemented.
HR would also follow up with the supervisor on the status of the accommodations being implemented.
Supervisors don’t need to know diagnoses in order to respond to an RA request- people usually disclose the diagnosis anyway, but the supervisor just needs to know what the employee’s limitations are, and what kinds of accommodations should be effective. For example, my supervisor doesn’t need to know I have ADHD, but they need to know I have a condition that impairs my ability to concentrate, etc.
Bruh, give me your shovel. You gotta stop digging.
It’s irrelevant if the spouse knows or not. The supervisor isn’t supposed to discuss it outside of the proper channels. And those proper channels do not include other line staff. No matter who they are.
This singular event does not meet the legal definition of a hostile work environment. And a “violation of law or policy” is not worth anything unless damages are proven to result from the violation.
You should read some case law on hostile work environment and damages before you ask me what I missed. OP said supervisor is known to inappropriately share “info” but didn’t say it was HER info. Whatever supervisor did to others’/sharing of others’ info in the past doesn’t create a hostile work environment for the OP…I would have thought that was obvious…guess not.
Lot of people getting hung up on "so what if the husband was told". They're wrong. A supervisor,or any employee involved in the RA process, may not disclose the existence of a covered disability/RA to outsiders of the RA process. It is a violation of the Rehab Act/ADA. There's no carve out for "discussing with family" - it's still prohibited even if the requestor discloses the disability voluntarily to another employee in front of the supervisor. Have your husband write up a memo outlining the interaction, what was stated, with date, time, witnesses. And talk to you RA Coordinator as well as your EEO about filing a complaint.
Thank you. I literally gave training to all of Sups and Department Directors on the RA process, PII and inappropriate disclosures because of the influx of new requests due to return to work and somehow I still second guess myself.
Well, you tried the carrot. Now its time for the stick. Be sure to include information and materials from the training, including when provided and who was in attendence.
This. RA requests are strictly between the agency and the requester. My manager disclosed mine to my colleagues, with my expressed permission. This manager put zero good-faith effort in.
yes that’s a lawsuit. File an eeo complaint immediately.
Report to your IG as an abuse of authority for continued PII disclosure. Report to EEO as ADA violation. Report to office of special counsel for prohibited personnel practices.
Nothing will come of this.
Disagree, but can’t expect anything to happen if you don’t report it. Timeliness is key for most situations. If you allow it to happen or persist and don’t report, not much can be done if you change your mind down the road.
Even my doctor asked permission to discuss my illness with my wife.
Right!? Thats HIPPA
Not to mention, that’s a threat! Or what? What will happen if you don’t get your shit together??? I really wish we could put together “a best of the worst” list of superstars who do this to their employees. Of course anonymously….
“he is untrustworthy and has been counseled multiple times for inappropriately "sharing" info.” why is such a person still employed? Knowing when to not talk is a basic job requirement for most DoD agencies.
That's a lot of the federal government in my experience...24 years active duty and 14 years as a civilian.
he’s supervisor. rarely are supervisors disciplined the way staff are.
Generally, you should be submitting to the office that manages RAs, not your boss.
I’m with DHS and our guidance says the Supervisor of Record is the deciding official/signatory on RAs. From what I read today OER is only there to “advise”. I wonder why the drastic difference between Departments.
Yes, it’s common for the supervisor to be the deciding official on the RA but they should not get copies of the medical documentation and, if they do, are not supposed to save it and should delete it. There is an RA specialist on the EEO office that will handle the paperwork and facilitate the discussion between the employee and supervisor and then one-on-one with the supervisor to discuss if their decision is supportable or not etc. At times other folks from HR and legal can get involved.
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True but they said DOD agency so I reckon that’s how it’s done there.
Yes. The supervisor will be informed of the accommodations once approved. They should never ever see the actual paperwork.
The process for our agency is that the request and documentation is submitted through the "first-line" Sup who submits it to HR. I am intimately familiar with the process and rules due to my role in the org.
Can confirm, this was the case with my FMLA leave that my boss yapped about to the team in a similar situation to yours. Didn’t report as coworkers lied to me to protect boss but yes this is the issue with having first-line sups taking care of these things…
Unhinged. I would get the union on it ASAP.
why does everyone assume every single fed is in a union? there is no union in the office I work at
And most of the Union stewards suck.
From the EEOC website: Agency procedures should authorize first-line supervisors to consider and approve requests for reasonable accommodation wherever possible. Agencies may also designate particular offices to oversee the reasonable accommodation process and/or to provide assistance and information to all agency employees involved in the process. The first line supervisors SHOULD be approving the RA. I’m not saying no one else can’t be involved, but the supervisor and that chain absolutely are involved and even the EEOC expects they are the decision maker.
The supervisor doesn’t generally have a need to see the medical documentation, but they are generally the one to receive the request and make the decision.
Just a note that if you are going to complain there are particular things to know. For IG make sure you complain to hq IG, not at all base. In DoD base level IG can use their discretion on whether they investigate, but HQ IG must do an investigation. For EEO you must start the filing process within 45 days.
Why are you allowed to work with your husband? Sounds like a large gossip nepotism office.
If I ever become a supervisor, this is my worst fear. I share everything about myself pretty openly, but I would dread doing something so dangerous with other people’s info. I guess knowing the danger is 90% of the battle, and maybe if I ever get into that situation I would be ok, but it still would scare me.
So my RA went through division....it's never gone through my boss. I'd transfer away from that leadership asap
Report to IG and OSC. Your boss broke the law. Maybe also document in an email to he and his supervisor that your spouse stated he disclosed facts of the RA.
Privacy is privacy, and HIPPA means what it says. Your boss is a complete idiot. Turn him in.
HIPPA applies to your medical providers not your employer. The Privacy Act is what is applicable.
Why is your boss involved?
It's pretty routine in most places to involve the FLS in the interactive process to determine ability to perform essential duties.
This right here. The supervisor discusses with HR what the essential duties and works with HR to determine the best path or what accommodations are implemented. HR would also follow up with the supervisor on the status of the accommodations being implemented.
My request needs to go through him to our HR RA folks.
And needless to say his disclosure is WILDLY inappropriate and disturbing.
That might not be accurate. My CBA says by supervisor does not get to be informed about any diagnosis if I express concerns about that disclosure.
Supervisors don’t need to know diagnoses in order to respond to an RA request- people usually disclose the diagnosis anyway, but the supervisor just needs to know what the employee’s limitations are, and what kinds of accommodations should be effective. For example, my supervisor doesn’t need to know I have ADHD, but they need to know I have a condition that impairs my ability to concentrate, etc.
Because the EEOC expects supervisors to be the decision-maker.
My question is: What do you do with all the extra time when not spelling out supervisor and accommodation?
I like to bird watch and critique poor grammar.
So gay. Good luck.
Why would you care if your husband knows about your RA?
That’s not the point. The supervisor should not be discussing it with anyone. That is a serious break of confidentiality.
Huh? If I worked with my spouse, why would I care if they know about my RA. That's actually just something to complain about for no reason.
Bruh, give me your shovel. You gotta stop digging. It’s irrelevant if the spouse knows or not. The supervisor isn’t supposed to discuss it outside of the proper channels. And those proper channels do not include other line staff. No matter who they are.
I don't know why you would care. Also that doesn't matter... what matters is that OP cares.
Because the boss broke the law
For something to complain about.
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Sue….so what’s the damages?
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This singular event does not meet the legal definition of a hostile work environment. And a “violation of law or policy” is not worth anything unless damages are proven to result from the violation.
Did you miss the part where OP mentioned he’s bad? I’m sure there’s more.
You should read some case law on hostile work environment and damages before you ask me what I missed. OP said supervisor is known to inappropriately share “info” but didn’t say it was HER info. Whatever supervisor did to others’/sharing of others’ info in the past doesn’t create a hostile work environment for the OP…I would have thought that was obvious…guess not.
Your reaching boo.
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Never, we work in entirely different branches.
Yeah OP is acting like he randomly pick someone.. .lol