Cox & MetLife: Incident Report

INCIDENT REPORT: Violations of Employee Rights & Medical Confidentiality at Cox Communications

This document outlines a concerning sequence of events indicating potential breaches of federal and state laws, potentially harming employee rights and violating medical privacy. It serves as a template for the presentation and investigation of similar incidents.

I. Key Elements of the Incident

Area of Concern Description
Information Sharing Cox and MetLife personnel engaged in systemic sharing of Thomas Coates' protected health information (PHI) without authorization, violating HIPAA and ADA guidelines.
Return-to-Work Interference Cox altered Coates' return-to-work date without proper medical justification, conflicting with FMLA and ADA provisions.
Lack of Independence MetLife appeared unduly influenced by Cox Communications' preferences in handling Coates’ disability claim, suggesting conflicts of interest and compromising MetLife’s neutral role.
Medical Records Access There was mass access and alterations of medical data of Mr. Coates showing a systemic failure with a lack of controls.
Right to have access It was shown during legal work of the case that this could not happen do to the fact that it's being used for hostile work envioment as well a violation of laws in the legal world it had to go before.

II. Personnel Involved

  • Latika Gaines: Supervisor, Benefits, Cox Communications
  • Inelyz Martinez: Short Term Disability Claims Specialist, MetLife
  • Jennifer Melton: Sr. Manager, Employee Relations, Cox Communications
  • Ursula Rogers: Cox Employee Service Center
  • Kelly Zahorodni: MetLife Senior Disability Customer Advocate

III. Legal Analysis

IV. Documented Breaches (Examples)

The following section shows several resources that can show that you have been harmed from Cox and Metlife's actions. I want to emphasize a lot on the 14th amendment.

Agency Contacts for Reporting and Investigation

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

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U.S. Department of Health & Human Services – Office for Civil Rights (HIPAA)

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U.S. Department of Labor – Wage and Hour Division

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Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General

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Internal Revenue Service – Whistleblower Office

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Note: Contact information for each agency is intentionally blurred/redacted to reflect confidentiality and the sensitive nature of ongoing investigations. Agency names are provided for clarity and reference.

Subpoena: Information Sought

Production or inspection of documents, attendance at a hearing, trial or deposition

Subpoena Type Description & Purpose Information Sought
Subpoena Ad Testificandum (Witness Testimony) Requires a witness to attend a deposition or trial to provide testimony.
  • Testimony from Latika Gaines, Inelyz Martinez, Jennifer Melton, Ursula Rogers, and Kelly Zahorodni regarding their communications and actions.
  • Testimony from HR and IT personnel about data management and protection protocols and access logs.
Subpoena Duces Tecum (Production of Documents) Requires a party to produce specific documents or electronic records.
  • All email communications between Cox and MetLife personnel related to Thomas Coates' disability claim, accommodation requests, and return-to-work status.
  • Workday access logs showing who accessed and altered Thomas Coates' employee profile and medical records.
  • Documents detailing Cox's and MetLife's policies and procedures regarding HIPAA compliance, ADA accommodations, and employee medical leave.
Third-Party Subpoena (Medical Records) Seeks medical records and testimony from Thomas Coates’ healthcare providers.
  • Documentation from doctors regarding assessments, treatments, and recommendations on accommodations for employee name.
  • Physician notes regarding communications with Cox Communications or MetLife about employee name medical condition.
IT Forensic Subpoena Seeks forensic analysis of IT systems to uncover deleted or altered data.
  • Forensic analysis of Cox's and MetLife's email servers, Workday systems, and other relevant IT infrastructure.
  • Data recovery efforts to retrieve any deleted or altered records related to the case.
Financial Records Subpoena Requests financial data to ascertain the cost of accommodations or economic impact of the actions.
  • Costs associated with the actions by Cox and Metlife
  • Any budget or costs to the employee impacted or the economic results to the incident.
Cox & MetLife: Incident Report

INCIDENT REPORT: Potential Violations of Employee Rights & Medical Confidentiality at Cox Communications

This document outlines a concerning sequence of events indicating potential breaches of federal and state laws, potentially harming employee rights and violating medical privacy. It serves as a template for the presentation and investigation of similar incidents.

I. Key Elements of the Incident

Area of Concern Description
Information Sharing Cox and MetLife personnel engaged in systemic sharing of Thomas Coates' protected health information (PHI) without authorization, violating HIPAA and ADA guidelines.
Return-to-Work Interference Cox altered Coates' return-to-work date without proper medical justification, conflicting with FMLA and ADA provisions.
Lack of Independence MetLife appeared unduly influenced by Cox Communications' preferences in handling Coates’ disability claim, suggesting conflicts of interest and compromising MetLife’s neutral role.
Medical Records Access There was mass access and alterations of medical data of Mr. Coates showing a systemic failure with a lack of controls.
Right to have access It was shown during legal work of the case that this could not happen do to the fact that it's being used for hostile work envioment as well a violation of laws in the legal world it had to go before.

II. Personnel Involved

III. Legal Analysis

IV. Documented Breaches (Examples)

The following section shows several resources that can show that you have been harmed from Cox and Metlife's actions. I want to emphasize a lot on the 14th amendment.

Agency Contacts for Reporting and Investigation

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

█████████████████████████████████████

█████████████████████████████████████

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U.S. Department of Health & Human Services – Office for Civil Rights (HIPAA)

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U.S. Department of Labor – Wage and Hour Division

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Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General

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Internal Revenue Service – Whistleblower Office

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Note: Contact information for each agency is intentionally blurred/redacted to reflect confidentiality and the sensitive nature of ongoing investigations. Agency names are provided for clarity and reference.

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) eeoc-contact@██████████████.gov Phone: (800) ███-████ Address: ███████████████████████
ACTUAL STATEMENT: "Provider has requested the following restrictions: Work from home to minimize strain and mental health."
ACTUAL STATEMENT: "We expect that you will return to work beginning on Tuesday, August 20, 2024... Sorry for the confusion. The department had to make a correction to Thomas Coates' return to work. The department will not be able to accommodate until 8.20.24. This employee will return to work on 8.20.24 instead of 8.14.24."
ACTUAL STATEMENT: "I would like to confirm if you are able to accommodate the employee with this restriction or if it is not possible to accommodate these restrictions for the employee."