Employee with suicidal ideations

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dear Employee-
We met this week where you shared some health issues you were dealing with. I following up with a recap of our conversation and have included links to information and resources.

As an employee of Widgets, Inc, you are eligible to seek the services of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which helps employees deal with personal issues that might adversely impact their work performance, health and/or well-being. Here is the info…

If there is a need for accommodations in the workplace, you can reach out to HR Dept as they may be able to provide supports on reasonable accommodations in the workplace if that was needed to address your health concerns.

You may also want to reach out to HR Dept to discuss your leave options. Here is the link to information regarding your disability benefits here at Widget, Inc: If you have any questions, you may contact the Benefits & Leave Office at 555-5555.

You shared you were in the process of working with health care providers to support your personal health concerns.

Please keep me in the loop about your next steps and supports you might need. I do hope you feel better.

Regards,
Molly
Molly Manager

Please do not send this letter.

Why not? Explain what your role is and what’s wrong with it. It’s what HR advised me to send after a similar conversation with an employee. I work in a large public sector organization with a $3B budget.

DP. You are asking that they disclose confidential health information which is always a bad idea. If you are a $3B company, you certainly have a staff that deals with medical information rather than having it go to an employee’s manager.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dear Employee-
We met this week where you shared some health issues you were dealing with. I following up with a recap of our conversation and have included links to information and resources.

As an employee of Widgets, Inc, you are eligible to seek the services of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which helps employees deal with personal issues that might adversely impact their work performance, health and/or well-being. Here is the info…

If there is a need for accommodations in the workplace, you can reach out to HR Dept as they may be able to provide supports on reasonable accommodations in the workplace if that was needed to address your health concerns.

You may also want to reach out to HR Dept to discuss your leave options. Here is the link to information regarding your disability benefits here at Widget, Inc: If you have any questions, you may contact the Benefits & Leave Office at 555-5555.

You shared you were in the process of working with health care providers to support your personal health concerns.

Please keep me in the loop about your next steps and supports you might need. I do hope you feel better.

Regards,
Molly
Molly Manager

Please do not send this letter.

Why not? Explain what your role is and what’s wrong with it. It’s what HR advised me to send after a similar conversation with an employee. I work in a large public sector organization with a $3B budget.

DP. You are asking that they disclose confidential health information which is always a bad idea. If you are a $3B company, you certainly have a staff that deals with medical information rather than having it go to an employee’s manager.

The employee came to me, a manager, with health information and already disclosed it. The cat is out of the bag. They're entitled to benefits & leave. The letter points the employee to those people in HR who actually deal with medical information if they feel they need to access those benefits and can help them access them. Without accessing those benefits and accommodations, they have no protection. They could keep missing work and underperforming because of their health issue. A manager would have no recourse except discipline and performance documentation. But if the employee takes leave and/or gets accommodations, they can hopefully address their health issues without that recourse.

If you were a manager and an employee came to you disclosing suicidal ideations and mental health struggles. what would your response be, PP? Please share.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dear Employee-
We met this week where you shared some health issues you were dealing with. I following up with a recap of our conversation and have included links to information and resources.

As an employee of Widgets, Inc, you are eligible to seek the services of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which helps employees deal with personal issues that might adversely impact their work performance, health and/or well-being. Here is the info…

If there is a need for accommodations in the workplace, you can reach out to HR Dept as they may be able to provide supports on reasonable accommodations in the workplace if that was needed to address your health concerns.

You may also want to reach out to HR Dept to discuss your leave options. Here is the link to information regarding your disability benefits here at Widget, Inc: If you have any questions, you may contact the Benefits & Leave Office at 555-5555.

You shared you were in the process of working with health care providers to support your personal health concerns.

Please keep me in the loop about your next steps and supports you might need. I do hope you feel better.

Regards,
Molly
Molly Manager

If, as a manager, you feel compelled to send a letter, I would edit the above to:

Dear Employee:

Earlier this week you shared some concerns with me. This letter is a follow-up to our conversation to share links to information and to resources which you may find helpful.

As an employee of Widgets, Inc., you are eligible to seek the services of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) regarding personal issues that may affect your work performance or well being. Here is the contact information:

If you need special accommodations in the workplace, please reach out to HR.

HR can also detail any leave options as well as share information about available benefits. Feel free to contact the Benefits & Leave Options office at 555-5555.

I hope that you find this information helpful.

Sincerely,

Mary Manager

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dear Employee-
We met this week where you shared some health issues you were dealing with. I following up with a recap of our conversation and have included links to information and resources.

As an employee of Widgets, Inc, you are eligible to seek the services of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which helps employees deal with personal issues that might adversely impact their work performance, health and/or well-being. Here is the info…

If there is a need for accommodations in the workplace, you can reach out to HR Dept as they may be able to provide supports on reasonable accommodations in the workplace if that was needed to address your health concerns.

You may also want to reach out to HR Dept to discuss your leave options. Here is the link to information regarding your disability benefits here at Widget, Inc: If you have any questions, you may contact the Benefits & Leave Office at 555-5555.

You shared you were in the process of working with health care providers to support your personal health concerns.

Please keep me in the loop about your next steps and supports you might need. I do hope you feel better.

Regards,
Molly
Molly Manager

Please do not send this letter.

Why not? Explain what your role is and what’s wrong with it. It’s what HR advised me to send after a similar conversation with an employee. I work in a large public sector organization with a $3B budget.

DP. You are asking that they disclose confidential health information which is always a bad idea. If you are a $3B company, you certainly have a staff that deals with medical information rather than having it go to an employee’s manager.

The employee came to me, a manager, with health information and already disclosed it. The cat is out of the bag. They're entitled to benefits & leave. The letter points the employee to those people in HR who actually deal with medical information if they feel they need to access those benefits and can help them access them. Without accessing those benefits and accommodations, they have no protection. They could keep missing work and underperforming because of their health issue. A manager would have no recourse except discipline and performance documentation. But if the employee takes leave and/or gets accommodations, they can hopefully address their health issues without that recourse.

If you were a manager and an employee came to you disclosing suicidal ideations and mental health struggles. what would your response be, PP? Please share.

DP (I was the first to recommend that your letter NOT be sent; I posted an edited version of your letter below.)

Does your position authorize you to determine whether or not the employee is "entitled to benefits & leave" ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dear Employee-
We met this week where you shared some health issues you were dealing with. I following up with a recap of our conversation and have included links to information and resources.

As an employee of Widgets, Inc, you are eligible to seek the services of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which helps employees deal with personal issues that might adversely impact their work performance, health and/or well-being. Here is the info…

If there is a need for accommodations in the workplace, you can reach out to HR Dept as they may be able to provide supports on reasonable accommodations in the workplace if that was needed to address your health concerns.

You may also want to reach out to HR Dept to discuss your leave options. Here is the link to information regarding your disability benefits here at Widget, Inc: If you have any questions, you may contact the Benefits & Leave Office at 555-5555.

You shared you were in the process of working with health care providers to support your personal health concerns.

Please keep me in the loop about your next steps and supports you might need. I do hope you feel better.

Regards,
Molly
Molly Manager

Please do not send this letter.

Why not? Explain what your role is and what’s wrong with it. It’s what HR advised me to send after a similar conversation with an employee. I work in a large public sector organization with a $3B budget.

DP. You are asking that they disclose confidential health information which is always a bad idea. If you are a $3B company, you certainly have a staff that deals with medical information rather than having it go to an employee’s manager.

The employee came to me, a manager, with health information and already disclosed it. The cat is out of the bag. They're entitled to benefits & leave. The letter points the employee to those people in HR who actually deal with medical information if they feel they need to access those benefits and can help them access them. Without accessing those benefits and accommodations, they have no protection. They could keep missing work and underperforming because of their health issue. A manager would have no recourse except discipline and performance documentation. But if the employee takes leave and/or gets accommodations, they can hopefully address their health issues without that recourse.

If you were a manager and an employee came to you disclosing suicidal ideations and mental health struggles. what would your response be, PP? Please share.

In my company, our managers would have known to stop the employee from disclosing and to refer to the correct department. We provide required annual training on these issues and you’d be a serious risk of losing your job if you violated privacy. And even if the cat is out of the bag, you are requiring further disclosures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dear Employee-
We met this week where you shared some health issues you were dealing with. I following up with a recap of our conversation and have included links to information and resources.

As an employee of Widgets, Inc, you are eligible to seek the services of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which helps employees deal with personal issues that might adversely impact their work performance, health and/or well-being. Here is the info…

If there is a need for accommodations in the workplace, you can reach out to HR Dept as they may be able to provide supports on reasonable accommodations in the workplace if that was needed to address your health concerns.

You may also want to reach out to HR Dept to discuss your leave options. Here is the link to information regarding your disability benefits here at Widget, Inc: If you have any questions, you may contact the Benefits & Leave Office at 555-5555.

You shared you were in the process of working with health care providers to support your personal health concerns.

Please keep me in the loop about your next steps and supports you might need. I do hope you feel better.

Regards,
Molly
Molly Manager

Please do not send this letter.

Why not? Explain what your role is and what’s wrong with it. It’s what HR advised me to send after a similar conversation with an employee. I work in a large public sector organization with a $3B budget.

DP. You are asking that they disclose confidential health information which is always a bad idea. If you are a $3B company, you certainly have a staff that deals with medical information rather than having it go to an employee’s manager.

The employee came to me, a manager, with health information and already disclosed it. The cat is out of the bag. They're entitled to benefits & leave. The letter points the employee to those people in HR who actually deal with medical information if they feel they need to access those benefits and can help them access them. Without accessing those benefits and accommodations, they have no protection. They could keep missing work and underperforming because of their health issue. A manager would have no recourse except discipline and performance documentation. But if the employee takes leave and/or gets accommodations, they can hopefully address their health issues without that recourse.

If you were a manager and an employee came to you disclosing suicidal ideations and mental health struggles. what would your response be, PP? Please share.

In my company, our managers would have known to stop the employee from disclosing and to refer to the correct department. We provide required annual training on these issues and you’d be a serious risk of losing your job if you violated privacy. And even if the cat is out of the bag, you are requiring further disclosures.

And to make it worse, you are putting it in writing and exposing your organization to risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dear Employee-
We met this week where you shared some health issues you were dealing with. I following up with a recap of our conversation and have included links to information and resources.

As an employee of Widgets, Inc, you are eligible to seek the services of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which helps employees deal with personal issues that might adversely impact their work performance, health and/or well-being. Here is the info…

If there is a need for accommodations in the workplace, you can reach out to HR Dept as they may be able to provide supports on reasonable accommodations in the workplace if that was needed to address your health concerns.

You may also want to reach out to HR Dept to discuss your leave options. Here is the link to information regarding your disability benefits here at Widget, Inc: If you have any questions, you may contact the Benefits & Leave Office at 555-5555.

You shared you were in the process of working with health care providers to support your personal health concerns.

Please keep me in the loop about your next steps and supports you might need. I do hope you feel better.

Regards,
Molly
Molly Manager

Please do not send this letter.

Why not? Explain what your role is and what’s wrong with it. It’s what HR advised me to send after a similar conversation with an employee. I work in a large public sector organization with a $3B budget.

DP. You are asking that they disclose confidential health information which is always a bad idea. If you are a $3B company, you certainly have a staff that deals with medical information rather than having it go to an employee’s manager.

The employee came to me, a manager, with health information and already disclosed it. The cat is out of the bag. They're entitled to benefits & leave. The letter points the employee to those people in HR who actually deal with medical information if they feel they need to access those benefits and can help them access them. Without accessing those benefits and accommodations, they have no protection. They could keep missing work and underperforming because of their health issue. A manager would have no recourse except discipline and performance documentation. But if the employee takes leave and/or gets accommodations, they can hopefully address their health issues without that recourse.

If you were a manager and an employee came to you disclosing suicidal ideations and mental health struggles. what would your response be, PP? Please share.

In my company, our managers would have known to stop the employee from disclosing and to refer to the correct department. We provide required annual training on these issues and you’d be a serious risk of losing your job if you violated privacy. And even if the cat is out of the bag, you are requiring further disclosures.

This right here.

I'm in senior management at my company and we must go through this training each year. I know it makes me seem unsympathetic to stop an employee from disclosing medical information to me, but my hands are tied. I cannot legally disclose anything that employee tells me to HR to get them the appropriate help/services needed.

The company put this policy in place after a lawsuit about 8 or so years ago. A manager shared with her team that a fellow coworker would be out for a week due to an emergency procedure & shared what it was with everyone. When the employee returned to work, she was irate that her medical information had been disclosed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dear Employee-
We met this week where you shared some health issues you were dealing with. I following up with a recap of our conversation and have included links to information and resources.

As an employee of Widgets, Inc, you are eligible to seek the services of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which helps employees deal with personal issues that might adversely impact their work performance, health and/or well-being. Here is the info…

If there is a need for accommodations in the workplace, you can reach out to HR Dept as they may be able to provide supports on reasonable accommodations in the workplace if that was needed to address your health concerns.

You may also want to reach out to HR Dept to discuss your leave options. Here is the link to information regarding your disability benefits here at Widget, Inc: If you have any questions, you may contact the Benefits & Leave Office at 555-5555.

You shared you were in the process of working with health care providers to support your personal health concerns.

Please keep me in the loop about your next steps and supports you might need. I do hope you feel better.

Regards,
Molly
Molly Manager

If, as a manager, you feel compelled to send a letter, I would edit the above to:

Dear Employee:

Earlier this week you shared some concerns with me. This letter is a follow-up to our conversation to share links to information and to resources which you may find helpful.

As an employee of Widgets, Inc., you are eligible to seek the services of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) regarding personal issues that may affect your work performance or well being. Here is the contact information:

If you need special accommodations in the workplace, please reach out to HR.

HR can also detail any leave options as well as share information about available benefits. Feel free to contact the Benefits & Leave Options office at 555-5555.

I hope that you find this information helpful.

Sincerely,

Mary Manager

So basically, you’d send the same letter. Got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dear Employee-
We met this week where you shared some health issues you were dealing with. I following up with a recap of our conversation and have included links to information and resources.

As an employee of Widgets, Inc, you are eligible to seek the services of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which helps employees deal with personal issues that might adversely impact their work performance, health and/or well-being. Here is the info…

If there is a need for accommodations in the workplace, you can reach out to HR Dept as they may be able to provide supports on reasonable accommodations in the workplace if that was needed to address your health concerns.

You may also want to reach out to HR Dept to discuss your leave options. Here is the link to information regarding your disability benefits here at Widget, Inc: If you have any questions, you may contact the Benefits & Leave Office at 555-5555.

You shared you were in the process of working with health care providers to support your personal health concerns.

Please keep me in the loop about your next steps and supports you might need. I do hope you feel better.

Regards,
Molly
Molly Manager

Please do not send this letter.

Why not? Explain what your role is and what’s wrong with it. It’s what HR advised me to send after a similar conversation with an employee. I work in a large public sector organization with a $3B budget.

DP. You are asking that they disclose confidential health information which is always a bad idea. If you are a $3B company, you certainly have a staff that deals with medical information rather than having it go to an employee’s manager.

The employee came to me, a manager, with health information and already disclosed it. The cat is out of the bag. They're entitled to benefits & leave. The letter points the employee to those people in HR who actually deal with medical information if they feel they need to access those benefits and can help them access them. Without accessing those benefits and accommodations, they have no protection. They could keep missing work and underperforming because of their health issue. A manager would have no recourse except discipline and performance documentation. But if the employee takes leave and/or gets accommodations, they can hopefully address their health issues without that recourse.

If you were a manager and an employee came to you disclosing suicidal ideations and mental health struggles. what would your response be, PP? Please share.

In my company, our managers would have known to stop the employee from disclosing and to refer to the correct department. We provide required annual training on these issues and you’d be a serious risk of losing your job if you violated privacy. And even if the cat is out of the bag, you are requiring further disclosures.

This right here.

I'm in senior management at my company and we must go through this training each year. I know it makes me seem unsympathetic to stop an employee from disclosing medical information to me, but my hands are tied. I cannot legally disclose anything that employee tells me to HR to get them the appropriate help/services needed.

The company put this policy in place after a lawsuit about 8 or so years ago. A manager shared with her team that a fellow coworker would be out for a week due to an emergency procedure & shared what it was with everyone. When the employee returned to work, she was irate that her medical information had been disclosed.

There's a huge difference between a manager seeking help from HR and a Manger disclosing information to employees without a need to know. Unless a specific state law gives rise to a duty of confidentiality, I'm not aware of any Federal law that would prevent disclosure to HR. Moreover, most companies have policies controlling any threat of violence.

[Anonymous]

HR got involved and worked with the manager to help the colleague, who was open in the workplace about their mental health difficulties and suicidal ideation. Ultimately none of that helped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dear Employee-
We met this week where you shared some health issues you were dealing with. I following up with a recap of our conversation and have included links to information and resources.

As an employee of Widgets, Inc, you are eligible to seek the services of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which helps employees deal with personal issues that might adversely impact their work performance, health and/or well-being. Here is the info…

If there is a need for accommodations in the workplace, you can reach out to HR Dept as they may be able to provide supports on reasonable accommodations in the workplace if that was needed to address your health concerns.

You may also want to reach out to HR Dept to discuss your leave options. Here is the link to information regarding your disability benefits here at Widget, Inc: If you have any questions, you may contact the Benefits & Leave Office at 555-5555.

You shared you were in the process of working with health care providers to support your personal health concerns.

Please keep me in the loop about your next steps and supports you might need. I do hope you feel better.

Regards,
Molly
Molly Manager

Please do not send this letter.

Why not? Explain what your role is and what’s wrong with it. It’s what HR advised me to send after a similar conversation with an employee. I work in a large public sector organization with a $3B budget.

DP. You are asking that they disclose confidential health information which is always a bad idea. If you are a $3B company, you certainly have a staff that deals with medical information rather than having it go to an employee’s manager.

The employee came to me, a manager, with health information and already disclosed it. The cat is out of the bag. They're entitled to benefits & leave. The letter points the employee to those people in HR who actually deal with medical information if they feel they need to access those benefits and can help them access them. Without accessing those benefits and accommodations, they have no protection. They could keep missing work and underperforming because of their health issue. A manager would have no recourse except discipline and performance documentation. But if the employee takes leave and/or gets accommodations, they can hopefully address their health issues without that recourse.

If you were a manager and an employee came to you disclosing suicidal ideations and mental health struggles. what would your response be, PP? Please share.

In my company, our managers would have known to stop the employee from disclosing and to refer to the correct department. We provide required annual training on these issues and you’d be a serious risk of losing your job if you violated privacy. And even if the cat is out of the bag, you are requiring further disclosures.

This right here.

I'm in senior management at my company and we must go through this training each year. I know it makes me seem unsympathetic to stop an employee from disclosing medical information to me, but my hands are tied. I cannot legally disclose anything that employee tells me to HR to get them the appropriate help/services needed.

The company put this policy in place after a lawsuit about 8 or so years ago. A manager shared with her team that a fellow coworker would be out for a week due to an emergency procedure & shared what it was with everyone. When the employee returned to work, she was irate that her medical information had been disclosed.

There's a huge difference between a manager seeking help from HR and a Manger disclosing information to employees without a need to know. Unless a specific state law gives rise to a duty of confidentiality, I'm not aware of any Federal law that would prevent disclosure to HR. Moreover, most companies have policies controlling any threat of violence.

The problem is that PP is actively soliciting private medical information from her employee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dear Employee-
We met this week where you shared some health issues you were dealing with. I following up with a recap of our conversation and have included links to information and resources.

As an employee of Widgets, Inc, you are eligible to seek the services of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which helps employees deal with personal issues that might adversely impact their work performance, health and/or well-being. Here is the info…

If there is a need for accommodations in the workplace, you can reach out to HR Dept as they may be able to provide supports on reasonable accommodations in the workplace if that was needed to address your health concerns.

You may also want to reach out to HR Dept to discuss your leave options. Here is the link to information regarding your disability benefits here at Widget, Inc: If you have any questions, you may contact the Benefits & Leave Office at 555-5555.

You shared you were in the process of working with health care providers to support your personal health concerns.

Please keep me in the loop about your next steps and supports you might need. I do hope you feel better.

Regards,
Molly
Molly Manager

Please do not send this letter.

Why not? Explain what your role is and what’s wrong with it. It’s what HR advised me to send after a similar conversation with an employee. I work in a large public sector organization with a $3B budget.

DP. You are asking that they disclose confidential health information which is always a bad idea. If you are a $3B company, you certainly have a staff that deals with medical information rather than having it go to an employee’s manager.

The employee came to me, a manager, with health information and already disclosed it. The cat is out of the bag. They're entitled to benefits & leave. The letter points the employee to those people in HR who actually deal with medical information if they feel they need to access those benefits and can help them access them. Without accessing those benefits and accommodations, they have no protection. They could keep missing work and underperforming because of their health issue. A manager would have no recourse except discipline and performance documentation. But if the employee takes leave and/or gets accommodations, they can hopefully address their health issues without that recourse.

If you were a manager and an employee came to you disclosing suicidal ideations and mental health struggles. what would your response be, PP? Please share.

In my company, our managers would have known to stop the employee from disclosing and to refer to the correct department. We provide required annual training on these issues and you’d be a serious risk of losing your job if you violated privacy. And even if the cat is out of the bag, you are requiring further disclosures.

This right here.

I'm in senior management at my company and we must go through this training each year. I know it makes me seem unsympathetic to stop an employee from disclosing medical information to me, but my hands are tied. I cannot legally disclose anything that employee tells me to HR to get them the appropriate help/services needed.

The company put this policy in place after a lawsuit about 8 or so years ago. A manager shared with her team that a fellow coworker would be out for a week due to an emergency procedure & shared what it was with everyone. When the employee returned to work, she was irate that her medical information had been disclosed.

There's a huge difference between a manager seeking help from HR and a Manger disclosing information to employees without a need to know. Unless a specific state law gives rise to a duty of confidentiality, I'm not aware of any Federal law that would prevent disclosure to HR. Moreover, most companies have policies controlling any threat of violence.

The problem is that PP is actively soliciting private medical information from her employee.

I haven't seen any where that anyone has solicited information. And even if they did, absent a particular state prohibition, this wouldn't violate any federal law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dear Employee-
We met this week where you shared some health issues you were dealing with. I following up with a recap of our conversation and have included links to information and resources.

As an employee of Widgets, Inc, you are eligible to seek the services of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which helps employees deal with personal issues that might adversely impact their work performance, health and/or well-being. Here is the info…

If there is a need for accommodations in the workplace, you can reach out to HR Dept as they may be able to provide supports on reasonable accommodations in the workplace if that was needed to address your health concerns.

You may also want to reach out to HR Dept to discuss your leave options. Here is the link to information regarding your disability benefits here at Widget, Inc: If you have any questions, you may contact the Benefits & Leave Office at 555-5555.

You shared you were in the process of working with health care providers to support your personal health concerns.

Please keep me in the loop about your next steps and supports you might need. I do hope you feel better.

Regards,
Molly
Molly Manager

Please do not send this letter.

Why not? Explain what your role is and what’s wrong with it. It’s what HR advised me to send after a similar conversation with an employee. I work in a large public sector organization with a $3B budget.

DP. You are asking that they disclose confidential health information which is always a bad idea. If you are a $3B company, you certainly have a staff that deals with medical information rather than having it go to an employee’s manager.

The employee came to me, a manager, with health information and already disclosed it. The cat is out of the bag. They're entitled to benefits & leave. The letter points the employee to those people in HR who actually deal with medical information if they feel they need to access those benefits and can help them access them. Without accessing those benefits and accommodations, they have no protection. They could keep missing work and underperforming because of their health issue. A manager would have no recourse except discipline and performance documentation. But if the employee takes leave and/or gets accommodations, they can hopefully address their health issues without that recourse.

If you were a manager and an employee came to you disclosing suicidal ideations and mental health struggles. what would your response be, PP? Please share.

In my company, our managers would have known to stop the employee from disclosing and to refer to the correct department. We provide required annual training on these issues and you’d be a serious risk of losing your job if you violated privacy. And even if the cat is out of the bag, you are requiring further disclosures.

This right here.

I'm in senior management at my company and we must go through this training each year. I know it makes me seem unsympathetic to stop an employee from disclosing medical information to me, but my hands are tied. I cannot legally disclose anything that employee tells me to HR to get them the appropriate help/services needed.

The company put this policy in place after a lawsuit about 8 or so years ago. A manager shared with her team that a fellow coworker would be out for a week due to an emergency procedure & shared what it was with everyone. When the employee returned to work, she was irate that her medical information had been disclosed.

There's a huge difference between a manager seeking help from HR and a Manger disclosing information to employees without a need to know. Unless a specific state law gives rise to a duty of confidentiality, I'm not aware of any Federal law that would prevent disclosure to HR. Moreover, most companies have policies controlling any threat of violence.

The problem is that PP is actively soliciting private medical information from her employee.

NO! Explain how I did that.
1.Employee disclosed information unsolicited.
2. Employee was given resources to access benefits and leave at their choosing. All information exchanged would be between employee and HR IF employee decided to pursue resources. Left next steps up to employee.
3. Manager did nothing else.
4. That’s it.

[Anonymous]

Can't advise other than take it seriously. A coworker had suicide attempts and eventually succeeded. He attempted suicide while he was still employed, but was fired for misconduct then succeeded.

[Anonymous]

I would contact your HR. And be as supportive as possible.