Expert: Michael Troy - 6/9/2007

Question
Dear Mr Troy,
I was interviewed on tape By a workers Comp investigator about a recent accident at work.I was told that I was not in trouble , and no mention was made of my right not to answer specific questions unrelated to the accident. This man then asked me questions I felt required to answer about my financial situation, my marital state , deaths in my family. personal medical history for my entire life, including medications taken and my job history for the last ten years and requested phone numbers of other relatives in case he wanted to contact me in the future. I was also given forms I felt required to sign that I didn't get time to read. I am a preschool teacher who fell out of a chair one day and was looked at by workers comp; and lost only one day of work. I was not considering any legal action concerning my injury. I was nervous during this required interview at work and didn't realize how my civil rights had been violated until I thought about it at home that night. I realize that your expertise is first amendment law but any help would be appreciated. I have no Idea how to protest this incident nor am I certain what my rights are or where to go for help.

Answer
Hi Julia, and sorry to hear about your situation.

First, let me ephasize that my real expertise is not in 5th Amendment issues.  Also, we are not permitted to provide specific legal advice in this forum.  For that, you would need an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.  That said, I will see if I can provide some guidence here.

If you are not under arrest, there is no requirement that you be "read your rights" or given any warnings about what you must or must not answer.  If there is no criminal investigaiton, you have no specific rights to refuse to answer, against self-incrimination, etc.  You have the right to refuse to answer questions, but there is nothing that prevents the questioner from asking them and seeing if they can get an answer.

I don't see any specific actionable violations in your description.  Perhaps it is a good learning experience so that you can be more assertive of your privacy rights or willingness to sign documents should this arise in the future.

I hope this helps!
- Mike