COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Are some employers spying on you? A Congresswoman from Washington said when it comes to birth control, yes.
Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) said the information you share in those workplace wellness programs could be shared back with your employer. Her legislation would change privacy laws she said right now don’t explicitly forbid this from happening.
“If a woman stops filling her prescription for birth control, her boss shouldn’t be the first to know,” said Rep. DelBene in a press release.
It’s what the ‘Birth Control Privacy Act (H.R. 5746) protects against.
Recent college graduate Jessica Richardson said she doesn’t want her future boss to know that information.
“I think it’s an outright invasion of privacy. Like where does it stop? Where do you draw the line?” said Richardson.
Congresswoman DelBene said she learned some third party vendors store information about women who stop filling prescriptions for birth control.
Richardson said it’s shocking.
“I’m pretty floored, but at the same time in the day and age we’re living in, I’m not surprised.”
Dr. Teresa Long, the Columbus Health Commissioner, had never heard of this happening.
She said Columbus Public Health is very committed to patient privacy.
“Clearly there’s federal legislation and lots of professional standards that all of us would take very seriously about protecting patient information and being sure their privacy is fully protected,” she said.
Congresswoman DelBene said Congress should put safeguards into place to make sure no woman is discriminated against.
“Nothing is sacred anymore,” said Richardson.
Ohio Representative Tim Ryan is one of 40+ co-sponsors of the bill. NBC4 reached out for comment, but never received a statement.
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Filed under: Local, News, State Tagged: birth control issues, birth control privacy issues, employer gaining information birth control 