The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which was passed by Congress in 1996, is a federal law that established national standards to protect private information about patients’ health from being shared without the patients’ consent. The HIPAA privacy rule states that an employer may request a doctor’s note from an employee, but only if it is necessary for an acceptable reason, like sick leave, Workers’ Compensation, or health insurance. Health care providers may not share private information about a patient’s health with an employer without their consent.