Takeaway: Employers should not use a general release for all medical records, but rather a release specifically related to the employee's medical condition at issue. Such medical record requests should be consistently applied to all employees.
A federal district court in Michigan recently held that an employer that required a fitness-for-duty examination for an employee who once said she was suicidal before it would allow her to return to work was not being retaliatory under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The plaintiff was a multimedia graphic design specialist for the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority in Brighton, Mich.
In October 2017, the plaintiff filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charge against the employer, alleging retaliation stemming from her participation in a sexual-harassment investigation. In June 2018, the plaintiff faxed documents related to her EEOC charge to Huron-Clinton's counsel. In one document, an e-mail to an EEOC investigator, the plaintiff reported feeling "suicidal" because of workplace hostility.
Concerned about the plaintiff's mental health, the plaintiff's supervisor placed the plaintiff on paid administrative leave and informed her that she could not return to work until she provided an authorization from a certified medical physician, indicating that she was able to safely return to the workplace and perform her job duties.
In July 2018, the plaintiff's doctor reported that she was not fit for duty and...
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