In responding to COVID-19, employers may be put in a position of having to collect, use and disclose personal information about their workers. Employers should seek to balance their worker’s right to privacy with their legal obligations to collect, use and disclose such information. Generally, employers should only endeavour to collect, use and disclose information that they need to meet their legal obligations (e.g. reporting a worker contracting COVID-19 to public health authorities and the Ministry of Labour) and they should seek to do so in the least intrusive manner possible. Any personal information that is collected should be stored in a secured location and, where disclosure is not necessary, it should be kept private. In non-pandemic times, an employer would be ill-advised to disclose the reason a worker was placed on a leave to other co-workers.
However, where the health and safety of those co-workers require disclosure (e.g. if they were in contact with someone with COVID-19), disclosure may be necessary for the employer to meet their obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. For example, an employer should notify workers that they have potentially been exposed to a risk of COVID-19 (and the date and extent of that exposure – a particular shift, or floor in an office building), but ideally not information that might identify the individual who may have caused the risk. It may be best for the employer to get the worker’s consent to disclose the information in question to the applicable institutions and individuals before disclosure is made. If the worker does not consent to such disclosure, the employer should obtain legal advice about their options moving forward.
If you need legal advice about privacy issues that have arisen during the COVID-19 pandemic, reach out to a lawyer at Turnpenney Milne LLP. We would be happy to assist you.