Does an employer have the right to give out a personal number?

michr

this was a state agency following up on a health-care related issue, this was not a matter of giving out personal information to someone who does not have a valid need to know. the assisted living home has the cell number for just this type of problem/issue. there is nothing illegal or unethical about what was done.

and for 'Rambo' where did you get this idea?
"I would simply remind the employer that the law is ... she can only verify your employment, dates of hire, wage... no other information can be given out."
this was a state investigation (the state is able to obtain any and all information needed to complete their investigation)
and
IF you are implying this is related to a reference or employment verification then you are WRONG about that as well. the law does not limit what an employer may release in a reference as long as they are TRUTHFUL.

Jack B

Once she gave the cell phone to her employer as a contact number than she was basically giving permission to use that number for business related questions which this was.

If she does not want to be contacted on that number I suggest she change the contact number she has with her employer or get a new number. It sounds as if she is going to need to supply some type of contact number when she is not around since you are working in a healthcare related field.

Beau.Gus

Phone numbers are (in most cases) "public" knowledge; if I knew your full name and address, it would probably take me less than ten minutes to find all your phone numbers, along with your Social Security number, work history, etc., etc...

It's "unusual", but it does not sound as though any laws have been broken or any real ethical breaches have occurred...

People who believe they have "privacy" are largely fooling themselves!

quizzard123

I'd think it would depend on the situation.

First of all, is the state the ultimate employer? In other words, do you receive you pay checks from a state agency? If so, then it is perfectly normal that they would have the employee's personal number.

Second, you state 'somebody wrote something incorrectly'. If this is in any way a legal or safety issue, the state will need to resolve it asap, and that would warrant speaking to the employee quickly, even if that means running them down at home. For instance, in a hospital, if a nurse wrote that she administered 100 times the proper dosage of medicine, anybody involved would jump over backwards to straighten it out. I'm not suggesting that this situation was that urgent, but you can see that some situations would require this approach.

In any event, I cannot see any harm flowing from this type of contact. It might be annoying, especially if it happened repeatedly, but it's not a major problem.

KP7689

This one is tricky. It's not illegal. If she gave her cell as a contact and is on-call, then it is proper.

However, if she gave her number as an emergency contact and is not on-call, then it is inappropriate. It's also a poor employment practice. For example, an employer who gave out personal information can be held liable if as a result, someone is harassed or stalked.

Her best bet, if she is not on call, is to tell her employer to stop giving out her personal information for safety reasons.

Rambo

If you supplied your employer with this number as a contact number (why else would the employer have that number) you can't complain that she used it. On the other hand , that is what should have occurred, the employer should have played middle man and contacted you to have you contact the State. It was a lazy move on your employers part, but not criminal.
I would simply remind the employer that the law is ... she can only verify your employment, dates of hire, wage... no other information can be given out. And tell her your personal number is NOT TO BE GIVEN OUT TO ANYONE. If an occurrence takes place and they need to talk to you , the employer should make contact.

j1a9d9e3

she can give out hers if she wishes, not anyone elses personal number.

D M

nononononononononononononononono
definetly not!

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