HIPAA Considerations for Covered Entity Employers Seeking Employee Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination

Lexology October 13, 2021
Dickinson Wright

As employees return to the workplace, an increasing number of employers are asking their workers to provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccinations. This has led to many questions and concerns about whether such a practice is permitted under various healthcare privacy laws, particularly the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”).

At first glance, the Department of Health and Human Services’ (“HHS”) stance on HIPAA’s applicability to employer requests for COVID-19 vaccination records is fairly straightforward:

[I]f an employer asks an employee to provide proof that they have been vaccinated, that is not a HIPAA violation, and employees may decide whether to provide that information to their employer.[1]

What this statement doesn’t address: considerations and potential pitfalls for covered entity...

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