Hi everyone! I hope you all are doing great! Hey, I had a question. I told my employer that I was having surgery (was not specific about what kind of surgery lol) but that I was having surgery May 21 (woohoo!!). I told them that I would most likely be out for a few weeks after surgery.

My job offers Short Term Disability and Family Medical Leave of Absence through Hartford which I applied for just now. I know I will be approved for my leave, but I was wondering, does Hartford tell my employer explicitly that it is for Gastric Bypass surgery? Will my employer eventually be told what surgery I am going in for? I am pretty open with friends, and my family knows and is very supportive, but my job on the other hand is all about image so I fear the judgmental attitudes coming my way lol.

Nope. They should only be told that your leave is approved and for what dates. None of your medical info should be disclosed.

Thank you so much for your help! You know, that's what I was thinking as well! Granted, the company that provides the benefit (Hartford) asked me for what is it for, etc., but I would think the specifics are not disclosed to my manager or anything. if anything, maybe HR but i imagine it would stop there. what do you think?

According to HIPPA law, NOBODY but you can disclose specifics unless you give them permission.

Yes, what I found out is that std/fmla company gets info from me, and all they relay to my job is approved or denied that all.