LFT Field Representative Mona Icamina
After hearing from the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, the Livingston Parish School Board has suspended the collection of a controversial form requiring employees to report sensitive medical information.
LFT Field Representative Mona Icamina told the board at its September 1 meeting that the Second Injury Board Knowledge Questionnaire is offensive to teachers and school employees. As it is currently written, she said, the form may violate the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
“We know that this board values good relations with its employees, and we don’t believe that you intended to offend,” she said. “But the questionnaire that was sent to employees inquires about highly sensitive and confidential matters. As it stands right now, it is highly offensive.”
The form requires an employee’s supervisor to sign each of the document’s three pages, giving the supervisor access to information that should be kept in confidence between employees and their physicians.
Because administrators are not legally bound to keep the information confidential, Icamina said, “they should not have access to this kind of information. Honestly, they should not even want to be privy to that type of information.”
Icamena noted that some employees have refused to complete the questionnaire.
“We urge the board to respect their feelings, and not take any disciplinary action against those who strongly believe that this questionnaire violates their rights,” she said.
LFT was the only organization to oppose the policy at Thursday night’s meeting. After hearing from Icamina, the board accepted attorney Tom Jones’ recommendation to suspend collection of the forms and refer the matter to the Policy Committee.
Jones said the committee will “develop a policy that will respect legal requirements as well as the privacy concerns of its employees.”
Icamina said the Federation will be present at the Policy Committee meeting to represent the interests of teachers and school employees.
To read LFT Field Representative Mona Icamina’s full testimony before the board, please click here.