In this week's post, we see as the United States slowly allows workers to return to their places of employment, employers must be aware that certain disclosures may trigger the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which is better known as HIPAA. 

Also, an overview of non-disclosure agreements.

HIPAA Privacy Rights: Triggers and Exceptions Amidst COVID-19 and Return To Work

May 1st marked the reopening of many regions across the United States. While many states stressed that social distancing and proper health safeguards should still be observed, many businesses reopened in the United States, signaling a moderate return to normal in the United States, and potentially triggering HIPAA privacy rights. 

As employees return to their workplaces, many employers may be unaware that their roles as health insurance providers may raise new questions regarding medical record privacy in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. For instance, as it was common practice for many businesses to test and record symptoms of their employees for the sake of flattening the curve, this triggered a host of new policies that employers had to follow regarding safeguarding the privacy of employee medical health records. This was addressed in a previous blog post “Coronavirus and Employee Privacy – What Employers Should be Aware Of.”

And on top of these new practices, employers must also be well versed in the rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA, as the coronavirus is still very much prevalent.  Put very broadly, HIPAA privacy rights protect the security and privacy of health records in connection with health care providers and health care plans. As employers are often responsible for providing the crux of health care plans to American citizens, it is important to understand when HIPAA is triggered. 

In the past, the mere providing of health care to employees did not trigger HIPAA privacy rights in itself. As such, employment records, accommodation requests, certain certifications, and workers’ compensation were not governed under HIPAA. With COVID-19 looming over the United States, however, employers must understand that if they act on behalf of the health care plan they provide, this may trigger HIPAA rules, which in turn, would limit when employers may disclose certain information about an employee’s medical history or health conditions.  

Read more here.

Non-Disclosure Agreements

If you’ve been to enough business meetings, chances are someone has shoved a document in front of you and asked you to sign it to protect the confidentiality of their information. Or maybe you were the document-shover, hoping to protect your own proprietary information. This type of agreement is typically called either a confidentiality agreement or a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

While hesitance to sign a legally binding agreement is understandable, there is nothing inherently onerous or diabolical about an NDA. In fact, every innovative, emerging company should require a signed NDA in advance of any meeting where proprietary information may be shared.

Find the full article here.

Click to read the previous Weekly IP Buzz on Thriving Attorney.

For more posts, see our Intellectual Property Law Blog.

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In addition to Thriving Attorney, Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. Click to read more about Darin Klemchuk's practice as an intellectual property lawyer.