New Reports Detail Jobcenter Overreach on Data, Urging Use of Ärztlicher Dienst

Overview

• Articles from December 10–11 describe caseworkers repeatedly asking Bürgergeld recipients for diagnoses, therapy notes and medication lists that should not be held by Jobcenters.
• Medical documents are to be sent to the Federal Employment Agency’s Ärztlicher Dienst, which returns only a social‑medical assessment to Jobcenters rather than diagnoses.
• Refusing to hand diagnoses to a caseworker does not justify benefit cuts, while sanctions can follow only if cooperation with the Ärztlicher Dienst is withheld.
• The data protection authority BfDI notes that full employment contracts and employment references are generally unnecessary if income proof exists, and that school reports are not required.
• Guidance reiterates limits on other documents, including inspection rather than routine copying of IDs since 2017, targeted checks for vehicle value, and requesting only the surrender value for life insurance.