Can my supervisor ask me what my health issues are?
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Can my supervisor ask me what my health issues are?
Everyone is expected to train new employees where I work. This requirement is not written in our job description or in our union contract. The last time a number of people trained a new employee, the management wrote up an employee for not training well enough. There are no policy’s and proceedures to go by when training and I get physically ill when I’m put on the schedule to train for fear of loosing my job if Im not good enough. I told my supervisor I would prefer not to train due to sever health issues it has caused in the past. I didn’t tell her more because my supervisor will tell others.
Asked on July 9, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Once you bring up health issues as a reason you cannot do part of your job or you have performance issues at work, then yes, your employer may seek clarification of them in order to better understand how this affects your job, whether they have to accomodate you (and if so, how), and also whether they face any potential liability, should you suffer injury on the job, or somehow cause injury to another. (E.g. say you drive for work--the employer has a right to know whether you are more likely to have an accident, because you may pass out or faint.) By bringing up health issues, you "opened the door" for your employer to inquire.
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