Home health care is an integral part of the health care system because not all medical cases necessitate hospital care or hospitalization. Home healthcare agencies are vital in providing services for those who chose to be treated at home (Fjørtoft et al., 2020). Sara got tuberculosis working as a home health care aide; she stayed home for several days, received treatment, and the doctor declared her fit to go back to work. When she returned to work, the colleagues stigmatized her because a human resource manager had shared her medical details. Sara contacted an advocate because her rights were violated. Her case had financial, legal, and ethical implications for the company.
Financially, Sara’s illness cost the company because she missed time from work, the firm lost money it could have been earned from her services. In the home health care industry, the clients only pay for services delivered (Grinza & Rycx, 2020). Additionally, the organization will lose money if the advocate decides to take Sara’s case to court. Legally, reviewing Sara’s scenario, it is evident that the institution has no resources to guard employees’ welfare. Employers should ensure that they safeguarded workforces who function in risky environments (Wadsworth & Walters, 2019). The home care industry should be more concerned about their staff wellbeing because their labor is more at risk of diseases and exploitation (Green & Ayalon, 2018). The home care agencies have a legal mandate to protect their workers from infectious illnesses (Park, & Lee, 2016). Ethically, it was unethical for a human resource personnel to disclose an employee’s diagnosis to coworkers. The HR violated Sara’s medical confidentiality and privacy that the agency should shield (Bhave et al., 2020). Disclosing staff’s individual and health details to others can result in discrimination, precisely what happened to Sara.
The legal implication is more significant because ethical and financial issues will not arise if bosses protect the rights of their workers. For instance, if the employer had provided a safe environment for Sara, financial and ethical issues would not have occurred. The financial aspect is less important because if the bosses comply with legal and ethical agreements, there will be no money lost.
References
Bhave, D. P., Teo, L. H., & Dalal, R. S. (2020). Privacy at work: A review and a research agenda for a contested terrain. Journal of Management, 46(1), 127-164.
Fjørtoft, A. K., Oksholm, T., Delmar, C., Førland, O., & Alvsvåg, H. (2020). Home‐care nurses’ distinctive work: A discourse analysis of what takes precedence in changing healthcare services. Nursing Inquiry, 28 (1). 1-10. e12375.
Green, O., & Ayalon, L. (2018). Violations of workers’ rights and exposure to work-related abuse of live-in migrant and live-out local home care workers–a preliminary study: implications for health policy and practice. Israel Journal of health policy research, 7(1), 1-11.
Grinza, E., & Rycx, F. (2020). The impact of sickness absenteeism on firm productivity: New evidence from Belgian matched employer-employee panel data. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 59(1), 150-194.
Park, J. H., & Lee, E. N. (2016). Nurses’ safety in the hospital environment: An evolutionary concept analysis. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration, 22(4), 406-414.
Wadsworth, E., & Walters, D. (2019). Safety and health at the heart of the future of work: Building on 100 years of experience. International Labor Office, 1-84.