I was asked this question several times lately, by my (Israeli) clients.
So my short answer is: Yes, if the employee agreed.
And the long answer is: yes (even without his consent) - if you do it right.
And here's how -
First - take into consideration, that you are dealing with sensitive information.
According to the Israeli Privacy Law, any information, relating to a person’s health, is considered "intimate" and any (unpermitted) disclosed of such information is an infringement of the Law, and may have criminal and/or civil consequences.
Nevertheless, the Law identifies certain circumstances, in which such disclosure of intimate information may be regarded as lawful. One of them is: if “the infringer had a legal, moral, social or professional obligation" to disclose the information. Another is: if the said exposure was “of public interest”.
The Israeli Privacy Protection Authority has indicated lately, that notifying employees that a fellow-employee was found to be covid-positive, falls in these categories, if such notification was done in order to prevent further infections - and in good faith.
But don’t click “Send” yet – there are two more issues you need to
verify, before notifying your employees. Ask yourself:
(a) are you about to expose any information which is not strictly relevant for the purpose? for example: Is it absolutely necessary to mention the employees name? sometimes it’s enough to announce, that “anyone which was present at the office, between 08:00 and 17:00 on January 1 may have been exposed to Covid-19, and should be checked”, and
(b) who are you intending to share the intimate information with? only employees, which were possibly exposed to the Covid-Positive employee, or
have another close connection with purpose of the disclosure, should be notified of the above.
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The information herein is not to be considered as legal advice. You should not act or rely on any information herein without first consulting with an attorney
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