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ADVANCE Outlook: Lab Professionals

Genetic Nondiscrimination

Published May 14, 2008 6:26 PM by Kerri Penno

Earlier this month, the House passed H.R. 493, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, by a vote of 414 to 1. The legislation aims to prevent insurance companies and employers from discriminating against employees based on their genetic information. The act is designed to offer protection and encouragement to those hoping to discover more about their health through genetic tests and personalized medicine.

Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, director, National Human Genome Research Institute,
National Institutes of Health, made this statement, "This is a great gift to all Americans. It will make it safe for Americans to benefit from the medical results of the Human Genome Project, in which they invested so much. It will make it safe to have their genes examined without fear that they may be discriminated against in employment or health insurance. This is a great day."

posted by Kerri Penno
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This legislation is way overdue. The fears about genetic discrimination are not unfounded either and run the gamut from serious to benign.  http://www.genome.gov/10002077

In the same way that some healthcare institutions choose (legally!) not to hire smokers because of possible lowered productivity, employers might want to avoid prospective employees who have  a genetic predisposition for a  trait that might cloud their judgment or make them more likely to miss work.

The literature has stories of employers testing employees for genes linked to carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and the like. In the case of Burlington Northern Railroad employees were tested without their knowlegde or consent

http://www.mindfully.org/GE/GE4/Railroad-Workers-Genetic-Defects8may02.htm

I know of at least one case in which an employee wanted to claim short term disability after developing CTS. The company successfully charged a genetic predisposition to CTS and thereby successfully avoided culpability for workers compensation and short term disability.

Insurance companies will undoubtedly want to assign risk  and higher premiums (or totally refuse to insure) based on genetic risk.

This is indeed a slippery slope and we all have to be vigilant.
Glen McDaniel May 27, 2008 6:01 PM
Atlanta GA

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