Confidential treatment for first responders

Worried about your job, or who will find out?

What the law may protect

These federal and Florida rules may apply to you. Each one has limits, so read the details.

• HIPAA. If your employer asks your health care provider for information about you, the provider cannot give it without your authorization, unless another law requires it. Your employer can still ask you for a doctor's note or other health information for things like sick leave or workers' compensation. HIPAA does not protect the employment records your department keeps, even if they include health information.
• 42 CFR Part 2. This federal rule gives extra privacy protection to records from federally assisted substance use treatment programs. Those records cannot be used to investigate or prosecute a patient without the patient's written consent or a court order. You can ask a treatment program whether Part 2 applies to its records.
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). If you are eligible, the FMLA may give you up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for a serious health condition, and your group health coverage continues. It can cover substance use treatment from a health care provider, but not absences caused by substance use itself. Your employer may not act against you for taking FMLA leave for treatment. There is one limit. If your employer has a substance use policy that it has shared with all employees and applies the same way to everyone, it may still act under that policy during your leave, and that can include ending your job.
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA generally protects people in treatment or recovery from a substance use disorder who are not currently using illegal drugs. It generally does not protect current illegal drug use. Workers with PTSD, depression or other mental health conditions are protected from discrimination at work because of their condition, and may have a right to reasonable accommodations, such as a schedule that works around therapy.
• Florida workers' compensation for PTSD. Florida law (section 112.1815, Florida Statutes) may allow workers' compensation for PTSD in law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMTs and paramedics who work for state or local government, including volunteers. It applies only after certain events on the job that the law lists. A licensed psychiatrist who is an authorized treating physician must diagnose the PTSD, and notice of the claim must be given within 52 weeks of the event or the diagnosis, whichever is later. The law does not list dispatchers or corrections officers. Ask your union or a workers' compensation lawyer whether it fits your situation.

Check your department's policies and your union contract

About FHE Health's first responder program

What the program includes

• Residential treatment, with medically supervised detox first when you need it.
• Partial hospitalization (PHP) and intensive outpatient (IOP) care, with program housing available at additional cost.
• A morning IOP track for first responders, which can suit people who are still working.
• Intensive EMDR, with longer and more concentrated sessions, for patients who are evaluated and meet clinical criteria.
• A brain activity scan for each patient, which gives the clinical team more information to help guide treatment alongside therapy. Read about brain-based care.
• Aftercare, including FHE Health's alumni program, referrals to first responder support groups in your home area, and case managers who set up psychiatric and therapy referrals.
• Support for your family, including Stronger Together, a support group for spouses and partners of first responders, and a monthly First Responder Families podcast.

Treating PTSD and substance use together

Questions first responders ask