Can I go after my supervisor for violation of my privacy rights at work?
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Can I go after my supervisor for violation of my privacy rights at work?
I recently took 2 weeks off from work to deal with a problem that I had with pain pills. At that time I notified the HR office and 2 of my supervisors. When I returned to work one of my co-workers approached me and said to me that she was very proud of me for going through with what I did and that its a hard thing to do, that her son is going through the samething and she congratulated me for doing it. Now I know for a fact that one of my supervisors told her,so I spoke to my union rep and explained what was going on. He is setting up a meeting with my boss.Is there anything that can be done legally?
Asked on August 20, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Connecticut
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Unfortunately, unless the supervisor had specifically promised confidentiality to you, there is most likely no legal recourse. The law does not make information about a problem with pain pills necessarily confidential, or state that anything told to a supervisor about a personal problem is automatically confidential. There must have been an agreement to maintain confidentiality. If there was such an agreement, however, then you may be able to take legal action for its breach.
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