A new debate rages on employer access to health records and whether stringent medical privacy rules prevented an airline from knowing the mental health of a copilot who allegedly intentionally crashed a plane, Bloomberg reports. “The medical secrecy rules are centuries old and touch the core of the medical profession,” said attorney René Steinhaeuser. Time reports that Germany’s strong data protection laws prevented the airline from knowing Germanwings Copilot Andreas Lubitz’s medical history, which included receiving treatment for suicidal tendencies before becoming a pilot. Bloomberg reports on why pilots are heard and not seen in blackbox recordings. Airline pilots and their unions have fought against video surveillance in the cockpit, fearing an invasion of privacy.
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