OMW Employment Law Blog

In November 2010, the EEOC issued final rules under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”). GINA prohibits employers with 15 or more employees from requesting, requiring, or purchasing genetic information of an individual or family member of the individual, except as specifically allowed.  An employer should not assume that since it rarely requires genetic testing that these regulations do not apply.  Genetic information can also include “family medical history.”  Therefore, employers may inadvertently gather family medical histories for FMLA leave administration, in the course of administering a wellness or insurance programs, or when conducting fitness for duty examinations.  Although there are exemptions for the acquisition of FMLA material and other incidental acquisitions of genetic information, employers should consult with their  attorney about any family medical histories or genetic information that it acquires.

For more information about GINA visit www.omwlaw.com.

This entry was posted on February 10, 2011 at 5:18 pm and is filed under Discrimination, Employment Policies. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Responses are currently closed, but you can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.