Have any of the National Labs adopted an anonymous "lessons learned" framework to openly review and address the impacts of an employee's state of well being (defined as comfortable, healthy, and happy), in the work environment while still adhering to HIPAA requirements?
There are many projects at LLNL, where employees are exposed to chronic and acute high levels of stress on a daily basis. Unfortunately, these stresses may lead to sadness, depression, helplessness, high blood pressure, heart attacks, substance abuse, etc.
LLNL has frequent "lessons learned" in print and on our internal Lab website to openly review employee injuries like, mixing incompatible materials, electrocutions/shock, etc., usually a result of not precisely following an established work/safety procedure. The goal of the "lessons learned" is to prevent future injury and or facility damage. Such accidents may be considered defendable from a liability perspective since the employee or employees, may not have followed an established work/safety procedure.
To my knowledge there is no "lessons learned" like transparent process at the Labs to openly review and address workplace, stress, harassment, bullying, and abuse that may lead to material employee health issues. HIPAA compliance while important to protect the individuals identity, should not serve as tool to avoid either the consequences for failure to provide an environment that promotes workforce well being or contractor liability.
