Some of the questions addressed:

• In what circumstances can employees be required to provide medical information to employers? To justify absence due to illness? To support a disability claim?
  
  
• What are the implications of the new compassionate care program instituted by the federal government? How have the provinces responded? What are employees' obligations when taking "family medical leave"? Can employees be required to provide a medical certificate proving the illness of a family member? How will these new employment standards provisions intersect with current privacy legislation?
  
  
• How will Ontario's new Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (which comes into force on November 1, 2004) impact the disclosure of medical information? In what circumstances can employers seek the release of employee medical information from third parties (doctors, hospitals, occupational health and safety nurses, benefit providers, workers' compensation boards)? What has been the experience in other provinces that have passed legislation protecting personal health information?
  
  
• How much information can employers ask for? Medical certificates? Reports? When should employers seek independent medical evidence? Can an employee be compelled to attend a doctor of the employer's choice? Or submit to an independent medical assessment? Who pays the cost? Can employees be disciplined or discharged for failing to provide satisfactory evidence?
  
  
• Can an employer's doctor communicate with the employee's doctor? Must employees provide the consent or face discipline?
  
  
• What information do employers require to assess accommodation options? Can employers demand more information from disabled employees (medical certificates for every absence, reports on rehabilitation progress) than is required of other employees? How are workers' compensation boards and human rights tribunals balancing the employer's interests with the employee's right to privacy?