In accordance with the Rehabilitation Act, the Privacy Act, and Postal Service policy, employees’ medical records are to be treated as confidential information (see Management Instruction EL-860-98-2, Employee Medical Records). The Privacy Act and the Rehabilitation Act specifically prohibit disclosure of medical information except in certain limited situations. For example, when specific information is needed in order to provide a requested accommodation, responsible officials may give or receive access to the records needed to make that determination. However, except for managers and supervisors with a legitimate need to know, the law generally prohibits an employer from disclosing that an employee is receiving a reasonable accommodation because that usually amounts to a disclosure that the individual has a disability.
