Ive been under NDA for things I cant even disclose to my boss, much less a friend outside the organization. But she also would not tell me if she spent a day at work planning for a war!). You can get past this, if you learn from the experience. Its part of driving a media and product blitz where it basically shows up out of nowhere because everyone has been working on it quietly so it would all be ready for the big day. I think she was trying to lessen some of the guilt she felt, but really she should have just sat with that feeling and let it fuel her resolve to never share confidential info with an outside party again. Sometimes I need to talk about what Ive heard or am excited about something I did which made a significant improvement to someones life, but I have to talk about that in a way that doesnt risk identifying the person at all. 4. Think of speaking with a colleague like speaking with your boss. The thing is, its a big deal that you were given confidential information and then texted it to a friend. And then THAT person got so excited that they just had to tell someone Each person thinks theyre only telling one other person, and that they can trust that person. Misdirecting an email can be awkward. But it sounds like it doesnt really matter that HR jumbled the details because neither was a permitted thing to do anyway. But folks with strong confidentiality duties often dont disclose the confidential parts of the information to their trusted confidants or partners. I didnt agree with it myself, and knew that it wasnt really possible without raising a lot of money, something my organization just isnt that good at doing. How could you have felt defensive about getting disciplined for that? Honestly, I might be more likely to dismiss (or not hire) someone who, like the LW, does not seem to understand what exactly they did, what it could have caused than someone who, for personal ethical reasons, deliberatly leaked information, but understands that this is Not OK. The fact that you were surprised and angry (to the point of calling her a rat, essentially) speaks to the fact that you actually do NOT know who you can expect to keep things secret, at least not as well as you think. read something out loud THEN realize that it wasnt public information. Its going to bite someoneand this time the person it bit was herself, which gives her a good opportunity to work on discipline and discretion. Yes, or that appalling line by E M Forster, written just before the Second World War: if I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend I hope I should have the guts to betray my country. That was not an enjoyable situation at all. One Employee's Accidental Email Leads To A Significant Data Breach (For example, my BFF works at the Pentagon. Being honest going forward really will help OP to repair the damage to her reputation and show she has integrity. We all make stupid mistakes. I ran across an old letter recently where someone had negotiated themselves into a poor position, and hit on dragging some subordinates out there on the plank with her. If you had stayed they would have never trusted you again.. Firing you was probably not what they wanted to do, and Im sorry. (Im a journalist, there are only a few specific cardinal sins in our industry, so lets euphemistically call this a case of inadequate attribution.) ); Im also thinking of someone I know whose work depends on his being able to drive who got a DUI last year, and someone who essentially had a full emotional breakdown in a workplace I was in when I was a lot younger, who ended up under her desk sobbing and throwing things). It also protects the coworker from any immediate threats or retribution by LW. I stopped when my boss had a stern talk with me about it, but also because I noticed that I was getting the bad news later, too (other people at my level were told about layoffs the night before, I was told shortly before the companywide announcement) and I realized I was getting a reputation as someone who could not be trusted to keep my mouth shut. (Or maybe the coworker did fabricate it, but I feel like thats a massive assumption itself. At the end of your explanation, look your interviewer in the eye, and dont say anything else. Life is full of these weird potholes we find ourselves in at times. If I were your coworker I would have done the exact same thing. (I thought Al Frankens apology to the fellow entertainer was pretty good, actually. As this was almost the entirety of your job they really couldnt keep you around. Once you do it, the consequences are the consequences. If asked specifially try to describe in detail what happened and what you learned from it, for example: ask if the new employer has clear guidelines on data handling. As I said below, that may be why you werent given a second chance. You did a thing that caused this outcome. All we can do is learn, rest, and go on another day. Click the "Settings" icon (the wheel/cog) and click "See all settings". I feel LWs pain. The mistake may not have been trusting the friend with that information, but it was definitely telling her. This is your making, and while I wish you luck, you have zero cause to be disgruntled with your coworker or employer. Or they might have a zero-tolerance policy for leaks as a deterrent. (Drunk driving is an extreme example of this. While that obviously wasnt the result Id have wanted, I learned an important lesson about confidentiality, and its not a mistake Ill ever repeat.. Everyone absolutely everyone employed at a hospital has to undergo annual HIPAA compliance training. Depending on the circumstances, you can indeed get fired for sending what you assume to be a private email or text. Head of the department who everyone hates for non-scandal reasons is stepping down amid a scandal Instead, you gossiped about it and risked an announcement before things were ready. When we accidentally receive a confidential email from people outside our own organisations, things are a little trickier. Which means have to vet things like your friend is a journalist, but doesnt cover your area? You can do this, if you keep working hard on yourself. Maybe you get a 2nd chance IF you were contrite enough and blamed your excitement at the new teapot program. I question that there are no details about your Monday meeting with HR here. Lose that part of the defense completely, OP. still cant believe that happened. Everyone messes up. For what its worth, one thing I noticed from your letter is language that sounds very social, discussing your trust in your friend, being ratted out by your mentor, not being given a second chance, and so on. How does this make it any better or worse..? If someone preempts that, theyre not happy about it generally. I dont think we fired anyone but the need for absolute confidentiality was reiterated. If someone told me something that I know Id have to report, I would report it. But that was the right response to what you did. Yup, landline. So mention it only if explicitly asked. But according to the LW, the trusted friend would not have blabbed, so if the LW didnt tell the coworker, the company would have never known and everything would be hunky dory. This will suck for a long time writing this post has made me feel anxious thinking about my own lapses and consequences from years ago but it all works out in the end. And especially, sharing information that youre not supposed to tends to be the type of thing that will get you fired immediately without another chance. If you shared something with me that I didnt ask you about or probe for, and just knowing it could jeopardize my reputation or career you bet your ass Id share it with our manager. I previously worked as a journalist. Yup. My late dad worked for a government defence research agency for most of his career. Received confidential email not for you? | Email DLP | Egress This is a much more fulsome explanation of what I meant! Almost every situation I know of where someone was fired for cause was presented publically as a position elimination.. You just seem to still want an answer and I picked up on this as a possible avenue to reflect on in your letter. Same here. How Should You Respond to an Accidental HIPAA Violation? And the young comment. I dont know that I agree she should have thought twice (since going to a mentor is a good thing to do when youre in a difficult situation), but I think thats absolutely the lesson some people will take away! If the coworker said that when that wasnt communicated to her, that was wrong as hell. It could also end poorly if the employer actually sees a job opening posted for the position the LW claims was eliminated. Lack of rigor. If you are still defensive or dismissive about this, it will come through in an interview. Can you get fired for sending a meme? - triple j - ABC Finally I decided to own it at the next interview and I got the job. Nothing I said contradicts this. I think this really depends. And that even one second counts as a HIPAA violation. From the other persons perspective, its always easier to say Oh, dont worry, its not that bad than to get a half-hearted minimizing apology for something youre really stinging from. FOIA and open records requests are really big deals. It would have been better if she had told you first that she was going to tell someone I think also this illustrates how hard confidentiality is; these are trained and likely reasonably experienced people who still couldnt resist this temptation. Ohhhh come on. You did a dumb, impulsive thing and when you took time to consider it, you did the right thing. Wrong is wrong- regardless of scale of the offense, and LW has no one to blame but themselves. She has to protect her job and reputation as well in the end, she shouldnt have to risk her own job stability due to your choices! And depending on the circumstances, if the co-worker knew you broke the rules and didnt report it, then THEY could be in trouble also. I sent confidential documents to someone by accident via email I need the file completely removed - Gmail Community Gmail Help Sign in Help Center Community New to integrated Gmail Gmail Stay on. Here are five such rules, most of which were broken by Block (who reportedly left Oracle yesterday.) Accept the responsibility for your actions and it will make life a lot easier going forward. I thought it was over. While I dont think the LW should be endlessly flagellating herself, this was her fault, not the co-worker. Fascinating (and fun!) Likewise, they would have fired you anyways regardless because they now feel that they cannot trust you with information. She would ask every rep if they were using TEAPOT o service accounts, and would proudly exclaim, My daughter built TEAPOT! She thought she was connecting with the people who helped her. All rights reserved. Sometimes they go so far as tell the bearer of the news that they now have to soothe them bc its their fault they feel bad. Im not going to spell out what it was, but it was completely unethical and immoral, and shes lucky her license wasnt permanently revoked for it. Nothing dangerous, and while I was there it honestly wasnt even anything that would be a big scoop or exciting dinner party story. I mean in the end there is not a lot of reasons to trust either, but demonstrating ongoing cluelessness is not a good way to sell this will never happen again. Having a mentor at a different organization in a similar role might be a good idea for the future. How to you ensure you're aware of it, and following it? Its a bigger deal because that friend is a journalist. It only takes a minute to sign up. Dont blame the co-worker for ratting you out. Egress Intelligent Email Security is an example of human layer security, as its able to adapt to your individual behaviour through machine learning. But imagine you are the government and someone leaked information. Is this the appropriate place to bring up Anthony Scaramucci not even uttering the phrase off-the-record during his bizarre call to Ryan Lizza and then being upset when his words were published? (Even before learning it was to a reporter!) Every hospital Ive worked at requires yearly HIPAA compliance training. In government, keep this confidential almost always means never share ever on pain of serious legal sanctions..