By Payroll and Entitlements Editorial Staff
The claimant appealed an order denying benefits after she accessed a patient’s medical records without authorization in violation of the employer’s confidentiality policy, which was promulgated to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Although there is no state case law directly addressing this issue, courts of other jurisdictions have held that benefits may be denied based upon work-related misconduct where an employee knowingly accesses a patient’s records, without the patient’s authorization, in violation of the employer’s rules regarding HIPAA compliance. Because the claimant failed to show reversible error, the court affirmed the Board's decision to deny benefits (Hadley, Fla. Dist. Ct. of App., First Dist. No. 1D19-2181, September 10, 2020).
