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Genetic Discrimination in the Workplace
With all the advancement in genetic decoding, scientists are developing techniques which can, with increasing accuracy, estimate the probability of contracting many diseases and in some cases predict who 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. Session on Health and Welfare Benefits Plans Update, including new GINA regs, at the Advanced Employment Issues Symposium Related articles on Genetic Discrimination State and federal laws against genetic discrimination in the workplace State-by-state comparison of 50 employment laws in all 50 states, including genetic discrimination A federal law, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), was enacted by President Bush in May 2008. GINA prohibits group health plans from requiring genetic testing, using genetic information for underwriting purposes and adjusting premiums or contributions based on genetic information. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act similarly restricts use of genetic information by health insurance issuers offering coverage in the individual market. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is in the process of finalizing regulations implementing the employment provisions of the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act. The EEOC is to issue regulations by May 21, 2009, implementing Title II of GINA, the part that prohibits the use of genetic information in employment, prohibits the intentional acquisition of genetic information about applicants and employees, and imposes strict confidentiality requirements. HR Executive Special Report: Employee Privacy Challenges & Solutions How does genetic information affect workplace practices? 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. Audio Conference: Workplace Medical Clinics: The Cure for High Insurance Costs 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.
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HR Tools for Genetic Discrimination
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