germany
An employer has the responsiblity to safeguard the health of all their employees (Fürsorgepflichten des Arbeitgebers, Employer Duty of Care).
§618(1) Duty to undertake protective measures - German Civil Code (BGB)
(1) The person entitled to services must furnish and maintain premises, devices and equipment that he must provide for performance of the services in such a way and must arrange services that must be undertaken on his order or under his supervision in such a way that the person obliged to perform services is protected against danger to life and limb to the extent that the nature of the services permits.
How the duty of care is to be implemented in concrete terms is described in more detail in numerous other laws.
The employer must always weigh the employee's personal rights against the employer's operational interests. When asking questions, the employer may only have the specific position in which the employee is to be employed in mind and check its requirements. Where there is no need to know, the employer cannot ask.
An employee has certain personal rights (Persönlichkeitsrecht), but only in so far as it doesn't violate the rights of others.
Article 2 Personal freedoms - Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
(1) Every person shall have the right to free development of his personality insofar as he does not violate the rights of others or offend against the constitutional order or the moral law.
(2) Every person shall have the right to life and physical integrity. Freedom of the person shall be inviolable. These rights may be interfered with only pursuant to a law.
So a balance must exist between the rights and responsibilities of both parties.
A line must be drawn where the rights of the first (employee) ends and the responsiblity of the latter (employer) to insure the rights of other employee's (right of physical integrity) begins.
Is it illegal for an employer or recruiter to ask an employee, contractor or potential hire if they have been vaccinated for Hepatitis C or ...?
There is no vaccine against Hepatitis C, so I will use Hepatitis B (which is spread by some body fluids) instead.
Is it likely, that a employee who is not vaccinated against Hepatitis B poses a general danger to the other employee's?
- No, therefore it would be illegal for the employer to ask if the employee is vaccinated against it
ADHD could count as a disability so I guess an employer can't ask about that. Is my understanding correct?
An employee is not required to inform the employer of a officialy recognized disability (Schwerbehinderung).
If they do not, they cannot utilise the certain protections that the officialy recognized disability brings with it.
If they do inform the employer, then the employer is not permitted to ask about the cause of the disability.
Has legislation been passed to make an exception for COVID vaccination status?
Yes, § 36(3) - Infektionsschutzgesetzes defines for specific occupations (defined in § 36(1,2)) for a restricted period of time (presently until 2022-03-22) and a epidemic situation of national concern, determined by parlament, is in effect.
FAQ Impfstatusabfrage bei Arbeitnehmerinnen und Arbeitnehmern - Bundesgesundheitsministerium
Do you have to prove the vaccination status or just state that you have been vaccinated?
The employer can, if and to the extent necessary to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), request information from the employees about the existence of vaccination protection.
Persönlichkeitsrecht (Deutschland) – Wikipedia
Das Persönlichkeitsrecht ist ein Grundrecht, das dem Schutz der Persönlichkeit einer Person vor Eingriffen in ihren Lebens- und Freiheitsbereich dient. Im deutschen Recht ist das Persönlichkeitsrecht als solches nicht ausdrücklich geregelt. Zunächst wurden lediglich einzelne besondere Persönlichkeitsrechte wie das Recht auf Achtung der Ehre, das Namensrecht oder das Recht am eigenen Bild ausdrücklich gesetzlich geregelt. Zunehmend zeigte sich jedoch, dass damit kein umfassender Schutz gegen die zunehmenden Beeinträchtigungen des persönlichen Lebens- und Freiheitsbereichs gewährt werden konnte.
The right of personality is a fundamental right that serves to protect a person's personality from interference with their sphere of life and freedom. Personal rights as such are not expressly regulated in German law. Initially, only individual special personal rights such as the right to honor, the right to a name or the right to one's own image were expressly regulated by law. Increasingly, however, it became apparent that no comprehensive protection against the increasing impairments to personal life and freedom could be granted.
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