quick confidentiality question

[E90///M3]

example:

i am writing a complaint letter about a co-worker that is continually breaking the rules @ our facility by using his/her personal cell phone around the patients, nursing staff & family members in the middle of the nursing station. This is one of the major rules in my company. If i was to ask for my name to remain confidential (so that we can continue to work as cohesive unit for the better of the patients) & i put it in writing but the information was leaked could there be any "legal" retaliation such as sueing slander, defemation or anything like that???

any help is greatly appreciated :D

[john]

Is it possible for you to call HR and file an anonymous complaint? Most places let you do this.

[E90///M3]

Is it possible for you to call HR and file an anonymous complaint? Most places let you do this.

they would prefer the complaint in writing so that it can be placed in the employees file... i'm more thinking about if the supervisor slips & tells who submit the complaint even after specifically asking to keep it confidential.

[john]

they would prefer the complaint in writing so that it can be placed in the employees file... i'm more thinking about if the supervisor slips & tells who submit the complaint even after specifically asking to keep it confidential.

As long as you're a good employee, I don't think you have anything to worry about if something is leaked. But I would give them the benefit of the doubt that things will be kept tight lipped.

It'll help if you can get others to file a grievence with you.

[SYCO GT]

Not to be taken as legal advice, and I am not your attorney. I do not pretend to know the facts of your particular case.

However, consider that even if a statement is derogatory, there are circumstances in which such statements are permissible in law. For example, in the United States, truth is generally a defense against defamation.

[SYCO GT]

FYI, in the rare event that any one cares, defamation generally encompasses both libel and slander, and typically slander is the spoken word, and libel is generally the published or written word. Of course, there are additional considerations such as gestures (slander) and photographs (libel), but this is the basic definition.

It's like bimmer and beemer to someone that cares (which I understand, isn't most people).

[SYCO GT]

Oh, but you have also asked a specific question with respect to HR. I don't know much about HR and their requirements of confidentiality, if any at all.

But you might find the attached of interest and something to consider. I don't purport it to be accurate and have not researched it, but it does raise some questions that have been discussed here.

http://skloverworkingwisdom.com/blog/index.php/can-i-report-something-to-hr-and-ask-them-to-keep-it-confidential/

[E90///M3]

Not to be taken as legal advice, and I am not your attorney. I do not pretend to know the facts of your particular case.

However, consider that even if a statement is derogatory, there are circumstances in which such statements are permissible in law. For example, in the United States, truth is generally a defense against defamation.

Oh, but you have also asked a specific question with respect to HR. I don't know much about HR and their requirements of confidentiality, if any at all.

But you might find the attached of interest and something to consider. I don't purport it to be accurate and have not researched it, but it does raise some questions that have been discussed here.

http://skloverworkingwisdom.com/blog/index.php/can-i-report-something-to-hr-and-ask-them-to-keep-it-confidential/


i had to read your post twice last night cause i was a little tipsy & got lost in the middle :laughhard: i finally got it though... :thumbsup:

i have a feeling you handle some type of Law in real life... i understand you aren't my lawyer & i shouldn't take this as legal advice though :)

that information that was posted is very informative... i don't expect anything of a big deal here at work. i was just making a small report of using personal cell phones on the hospital floor when it states in our employee handbook that cell phones are not permitted in the nursing stations.

i only wanted the employees to be instructed by the director of staff development (DSD) & remind them not to use cell phones. i was more afraid of if the DSD said something that i reported them & then they start giving me the cold shoulder therefore not being able to complete the job at hand since we have to work together on patient issues.

i just wanted to make it clear if they release my name it can have repercussions against them for releasing confidential information.

thank you for taking the time to help me out everyone who posted! i'll just go ahead with it & stand up for what is right for the company & patients. No one deserves to slide on those specific rules :D

[SYCO GT]

Hope it all works out Jason. I hope your company has a clear policy and procedures manual, and you are familiar with their grievance process.

I wasn't sure if you were asking if you could have a cause of action for libel (defamation) if the HR dept. breached confidentiality.

Now, in reflection, I think that is what you may have been inquiring. (At first, I thought you were concerned that you would get sued for defamation, by the person named in your complaint)

One of the likely reasons that HR wants a signed, identified statement, is that they can say, "we have an identified person that has lodged a complaint, and we took justified and reasonable action on it." Naturally, the recipient of any adverse action is going to want to know who the complainant is, it's human nature.

So, when push comes to shove, HR can throw the complainant under the bus, so to speak, based on the website link, if true.

My summary, and again, this is involves speculation, would be something like this.

1. Truth is an absolute defense to defamation, in the US
2. There are two main types of defamation, libel (written or published) and slander (spoken or gestured)
3. HR Dept.'s responsibility is first to the company as is their loyalty
4. In choosing between following the law, or protecting a complainant's confidentiality, it seems in several circumstances, HR will choose to follow the law or even procedures and sometimes break the confidentiality.
5. If the HR breaches confidentiality, your recourse against them might be limited and unlikely to be successful.
6. Obviously, you can sue someone for anything, but that doesn't necessarily mean you will be successful. So, if it were me, I wouldn't rely on the confidentiality to offer significant or absolute protection, imo.

I am not an employment law attorney or HR attorney and these matters are completely outside my expertise. Seek the assistance of qualified counsel before making any decisions that could jeopardize your employment or civil liability.

[Perpetrator]

does your company have like a narc-line of some sort? at my work, we have a hotline to report unethical behavior. it's confidential. i've seen it work in some cases (I was not involved), yet i've seen it get abused maliciously as well.

how is this coworker currently viewed by management? management may already "wish" this guy gone, and your complaint may be what they've been waiting for to pull the trigger. if he has a stronger hold around the office than you (say he's respected and been around for a while), then you'll def need to have a ninja approach to avoid any backlash. sux as it may, but work politics is what it is.

good luck tho

[E90///M3]

does your company have like a narc-line of some sort? at my work, we have a hotline to report unethical behavior. it's confidential. i've seen it work in some cases (I was not involved), yet i've seen it get abused maliciously as well.

how is this coworker currently viewed by management? management may already "wish" this guy gone, and your complaint may be what they've been waiting for to pull the trigger. if he has a stronger hold around the office than you (say he's respected and been around for a while), then you'll def need to have a ninja approach to avoid any backlash. sux as it may, but work politics is what it is.

good luck tho


thanks everyone for the input! so far there has been no backlash... he was given a quick in-service by his direct supervisor & hopefully it won't happen again. other than that, the employee & I went out for drinks friday night with no mention of what happened about him being reported :)

again thanks to everyone that provided answers.