labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Any employer who is not prominently displaying a GINA Non-Discrimination poster is in violation of the law.

 

Effective Nov. 21, 2009 the GINA mandatory posting requirement went into effect, meaning that employers can be fined or penalized for not complying.

 

Under Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, employers are prohibited from gathering information regarding an employee’s genetic predisposition for disease. This includes querying an employee before or after hiring about a family history of heart disease or cancer, just to cite one example.

 

This law does not cover lifestyle issues such as smoking, drinking alcohol, handgun ownership or use of seat belts.

 

GINA was signed into law by then-president George W. Bush on May 21, 2008. The law primarily addresses genetic discrimination by by health insurance companies. It addresses a fear that, for example, a health insurance provider might refuse coverage to a healthy individual, merely because his father and grandfather died of heart attacks.

 

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act prohibits insurance companies and employers from discriminating on the basis of information obtained through genetic testing. With more than 40 genetic tests for various health conditions available, the fear was that employers would refuse to hire an applicant who was at greater risk for cancer or alcoholism, due to his or her genetic makeup. This fear, in turn, resulted in some employees refusing genetic tests that would help them make lifestyle changes or enter proactive treatment to avoid those conditions.

 

The law also prevents employers from taking any negative action against an employee, based on genetic information, or from requiring that employees consent to genetic testing. In fact, an employer cannot even request that employees submit to genetic testing. This portion of the law is enforced by the EEOC.

 

GINA prohibits health insurers (including employers who are self-insured) from discriminating through reduced coverage, or higher prices, as well as declining coverage to or canceling cover for individuals based on genetic testing or genetic information. 

 

 

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