Medical information

Medical information is information from a doctor about the state of a person’s health. In the workplace, employees may need to provide medical information from their doctor about whether they are fit to work or require accommodation at work.  

Employers may request medical information to:  

• confirm an employee's absence for medical reasons
• decide whether an employee is fit to return to work after a medical absence
• understand an employee's restrictions and limitations relating to their job duties
• explore reasonable accommodation for an employee with a disability
• decide whether they can accommodate an employee’s disability

An employer can ask for a pre-employment medical evaluation only if there are no other reasonable ways to assess the candidate’s ability to do the job. The employer can also only require testing after making a conditional job offer. The testing should be limited to only providing information about the candidate’s ability to do the job, not about their health generally.

For example, a psychological exam may screen out candidates with a mental disability. This testing is only acceptable if the employer can show a mental disability would prevent the candidate from performing key job duties. This might be reasonable for those working in high-stress situations such as paramedics or 911 operators.

Candidates should give employers enough information about their accommodation needs based on a protected ground to allow employers to assess ways to accommodate them. Employers must protect the employee’s privacy by keeping confidential all testing information and accommodation requests.

The employer cannot refuse to hire a candidate because of a disability unless the disability would prevent the candidate from doing the job and an accommodation would create an undue hardship, or where the employer cannot accommodate the condition because of a Bona fide occupational requirement (BFOR).

When an employee is absent from work for medical reasons, an employer may ask for medical information that:

• confirms the employee’s absence is for medical reasons
• gives an approximate return to work date
• only relates to the operation of the workplace and the employee’s job duties
• relates to the period of absence

Some disability-related absences may not require any medical documentation. For example, short or infrequent absences likely only require minimal medical information. Employers are not entitled to an employee’s diagnosis except in very limited circumstances.

Employers have a duty to reasonably accommodate an employee’s request for accommodation to the point of undue hardship. For more information, read the Duty to accommodate at work page.

When an employee returns to work after a medical absence, the employer may ask the employee’s doctor to confirm in writing that:

• the employee is fit to return to work, and
• what, if any, accommodation the employee needs.

Employees have a duty to cooperate in the accommodation process. They must make the employer aware of their need for accommodation and provide reasonable medical information to support their request for their employer to understand their needs and to inform accommodation options.

For example, the employee may need to provide information such as:

• whether the illness or injury is permanent or temporary
• what restrictions and limitations they have
• whether their treatment or medication will affect their ability to perform job duties
• expected length of disability and absence (prognosis for recovery)
• their fitness to return to work
• their fitness to perform specific parts of the pre-injury job
• their ability to perform modified work
• likely duration of any physical or mental restrictions or limitations following their return to work

The medical information an employer needs to assess accommodation options depends on the situation, including the nature of the worksite, the extent of medical restrictions, and the employee’s accommodation request. For physical and mental disabilities, employees often must provide documents from medical professionals.

The employee, the employer, and trade union (if there is one) must all cooperate in the accommodation process. An employee cannot refuse a reasonable solution just because they prefer a different kind of accommodation.

Employers should limit requests for medical information to only what is reasonably necessary to:

• decide if an accommodation request is valid, and
• explore options for providing accommodation based on an employee’s medical restrictions when they can return to work.

What is reasonably necessary depends on the situation and what the request is about. For example, if an employee does not ask for or need any accommodation, they have the right to full privacy over their medical information, meaning they do not have to share any medical information with their employer. For simple or very short-term accommodation requests, the employer may need only some medical information from the employee. For longer-term or complicated requests, or if there is doubt about the initial medical information, the employer may require more detailed information from the employee.

While an employer can ask an employee for medical information when they are absent for medical reasons or require accommodation at work, there are certain things the employer does not have the right to do. For example, employers do not have the right to:

• contact the employee’s doctor by phone, without the employee’s consent
• demand a particular opinion, for example, that the employee is fit to work and will never require future accommodation
• request medical information unrelated to their employment
• release medical information to anyone other than staff who need it for a specific purpose
• know the employee’s diagnosis, except in limited cases