Examples of information about employees that should be placed in a protected medical file separate from the personnel file include but are not limited to:
- any document that contains private medical information about the employee or the employee's family
- doctor notes
- claims for medical services
- disability documents
- forms for short term, long term or temporary leaves
- return to work documents
- FMLA documents
- ADA information regarding reasonable accommodations
- documents or correspondence related to reasonable accommodation and work restrictions
- Communications during the interactive process
- correspondence related to medical leaves and absences
- transitional work agreements
- worker's compensation records or correspondence
- injury or illness reports
- OSHA injury and illness reports
More information about federal requirements to protect the privacy of personal health information can be found at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/.