Well, So Much for Medical Privacy
I got this in my email today from the state of New Mexico:
Dear Employer,
As of Wednesday, August 5, 2020, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) filed an emergency rule that requires employers to report positive COVID-19 cases to NMED within four hours of being notified of the case. The employer must notify NMED by email at:
Email: NMENV-OSHA@state.nm.us
This kind of thing actually makes it harder for us to keep our workplace safe. We depend on our employees completing a daily health self-assessment each day and the only way we could coax a number of them into being honest on this survey was to promise them that a) we would take care of them financially through any quarantine and b) their self-assessment would remain confidential. But now it can't remain confidential in NM. This is going to make it much harder for us to get honest information from our employees on potential infection, as they are all worried about -- as they put it -- getting into some government system. Arguing that this fear is irrational (and I am not sure it is entirely in a world where mayors are turning off power and water to homes they don't obey them) is beside the point, as it is a fear they have and will prevent an honest discussion with some.
