Confidentiality of medical record.

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I live in Europe. I see many posts (and links on the net) that point an incompatibility between some jobs and having a previous medical record, especially in the USA. In Europe, we seem to be more protected (although in can vary from countries in countries). In Belgium and France, a future employer cannot under any circumstance have access to your medical record and this is legally protected, a physician revealing anything from it commit a legally punishable "felony" (délit in French). Your have the perfect right to tell your employer you have no medical record even if it is a lie and I do not think this can be considered a fault. In France you may even legally demand that a previous mention on your medical record be deleted and any trace of it must be destroyed. If you had a previous Asperger diagnostic, you may, if you want, decide that you no longer wish to have it and demand that any trace of it be destroyed.

An employer can decide you have to pass a medical exam to have the job (it is allowed but regulated), but without having access to your personal medical record. So, at least in where I live having had an Asperger diagnostic as child can't keep you from applying for any job you want to apply for (whether it is in the army, aviation, etc...). They may note you are unfit but on the basis of an actual medical exam they conduct (and with some resctrictions) not on the basis of a previous diagnosis.

If I understand well, in the US, you have a board of specialists that may decide you are ill, even as a child, just because you not fit what they subjectively consider what is the norm of the society. These norms are decided on a most obscure unscientific way. And then these records can follow you for your whole life. You have some sort of criminal record although you have made nothing illegal and were allowed no lawsuit. This is IMHO a flagrant violation of basic human rights.

They'll ask you though if you have any condition when you apply for a job -- saying no because you assume the private records won't get out is a no-no. If your employers suspect that you may have something [previously] and weren't honest about it, I'm guessing they can get the courts to release your records -- that's pretty much how it goes in most places (Western countries).

I really doubt you can hide from a former label, no matter how private it is. There'll be records of doctor visits that you can't remove, so if you do something that calls into question your previous mental health, it will be found out (courts can order doctors to reveal patient knowledge).

If you don't want a record, the only way to go about that is to not make one.

However, one can't be discriminated against due to a disability with employment (most Western countries), so it technically shouldn't matter.

Well, at least it is not like that in France. As I said, you may demand that any trace of a previous medical record be deleted. Any trace of it is thus deleted. I do not think the employer might have any access to it. Even if he has (because you or some family member confess it afterwards, for example); having lied about it probably cannot be considered a fault. Lying is not illegal per se in Europe. For example, I know that an employer cannot ask if a woman is pregnant. Many employers do it nevertheless and the government somewhat officially promotes to lie in such cases. It is considered the "right" thing to do and will be considered a perfectly acceptable comportment in court (the employer that have asked the question risk something, not you). Just as you can say that you are really motivated while in reality you are not. As strange as it can be, I know that in Belgium, some lies are allowed on a CV (not everything, you cannot claim that you have a diploma that you have not, but a court will most probably not consider a fault the fact that you have invented a hobby that you thought would give a good impression).

Moreover, we have two different courts: penal (in case you risk a sanction from the society) and civil (in case someone sue you to have damage). While a penal court might require to disclose some documents, a civil court cannot ask to disclose anything.

Although unrelated but on the same topic, in Europe, the defended (accused) has the right to lie in court. It is a real explicit right.
(Witnesses must swear to tell the truth and are not allowed to lie. The defendant and the family member of him cannot swear to tell the truth (really cannot, they can't even do it on a volontary basis).



But I see a lot of posts that you are not allowed in the army or as an aircraft pilot or so. It does not seem so absolute.

This diverges from the main topic. But I am somewhat puzzled as how the legal system can be different across the Atlantic.

As far as I'm aware in the US medical records are private and your job can't legally access them without your permission.

Alberta has pretty strict privacy rules.Employers have NO right to access your medical records unless you give them written consent.

That's still too much in my opinion. Because the employer can ask you this consent and if you refuse he will consider you have something to hide. In France the employer has no access to your medical record at all, you can't give any kind of consent. The law has even foreseen that you can demand the removal of any information in your medical record. In the last case, I think you can act entirely as if the condition never existed, including claiming it. Whatever we may ask you, you just can give it.