We’ve heard of plenty of cases in which employees get in trouble – or are even fired – for things that they express on social networks or in discussion forums. However, one bit of news coming from CBC yesterday is particularly disturbing. The headline reads “Depressed woman loses benefits over Facebook Photos” and it actually gets scarier from there.
The case involves a woman, diagnosed with major depression, who was on medical leave (receiving monthly benefits). Those benefits dried up when Manulife (the insurance company) actually investigated her facebook account, using photos of her on a vacation as evidence that her sick leave should be suspended.
From the news piece:
“Blanchard said she notified Manulife that she was taking a trip, and she's shocked the company would investigate her in such a manner and interpret her photos that way… Blanchard said that on her doctor's advice, she tried to have fun, including nights out at her local bar with friends and short getaways to sun destinations, as a way to forget her problems.
She also doesn’t understand how Manulife accessed her photos because her Facebook profile is locked and only people she approves can look at what she posts.”
This is scary – and a complete invasion of privacy.
“Manulife wouldn't comment on Blanchard's case, but in a written statement sent to CBC News, the insurer said: "We would not deny or terminate a valid claim solely based on information published on websites such as Facebook." It confirmed that it uses the popular social networking site to investigate clients.
Insurance companies must weigh information found on such sites, said Claude Distasio, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association.
"We can't ignore it, wherever the source of the information is," she said. "We can't ignore it."
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1 comments:
She will have more depression after this.
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