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Genetic Discrimination
With all the advancement in the field of genetic decoding, most notably the Human Genome Project, scientists are developing techniques which can, with increasing accuracy, estimate the probability of contracting many diseases and in some cases predict who among us actually will fall prey to them. In response, lawmakers at both the federal and state levels are trying to address the various legal issues -- including restrictions on how employers and health insurance companies could use that sort of information about workers -- raised by these advancements. Related articles on Genetic Discrimination Genetic discrimination in the workplaceHundreds of pieces of state-level legislation have been introduced since the initiation of the Human Genome Project. Many of those bills have become law, offering varying degrees of protection against genetic discrimination. A federal law, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), recently was passed in the U.S. House and Senate and signed by President Bush. It prohibits group health plans from requiring genetic testing, using genetic information for underwriting purposes and adjusting premiums or contributions based on genetic information. It similarly restricts use of genetic information by health insurance issuers offering coverage in the individual market. Regarding employment practices, GINA forbids employers from discriminating against employees in hiring, firing and in the terms and conditions of employment based on genetic information. Insurers may, however, consider preexisting health conditions (as opposed to genetic predispositions) in underwriting decisions. In addition to state laws, other measures currently on the books could be used to block genetic discrimination, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), A screening for genetic information, for example, is clearly a medical inquiry or exam and is therefore prohibited before making an employment offer. The ADA also protects individuals who aren't disabled but are thought of as disabled by others. Title I of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) currently prohibits health insurers from using genetic information about a patient in deciding whether to insure the individual. Without this protection, health insurers could treat a potential customer's genetic information -- a predisposition to Alzheimer's disease, for example -- as a preexisting condition. Finally, Executive Order 13145 to Prohibit Discrimination in Federal Employment Based on Genetic Information was signed on February 8, 2000, by President Bill Clinton. The executive order states that genetic discrimination be added to the list of forms of discrimination barred by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The scope of the order, however, doesn't reach beyond the applicants, employees, and former employees of executive branch departments and agencies. It doesn't cover employees in the private sector.
Related articles on Genetic Discrimination from the State Employment Law Letters
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