Protection from Genetic Information Discrimination – Meet "GINA"

June 2008
Employment Law Notes
Scientists continue to identify genes that are associated with a variety of diseases including types of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Screening, detection and treatment of inherited diseases continue to improve and become more commonplace in the United States. With such advances, fears about discrimination based on genetic information have arisen. However, the federal government took steps to prohibit genetic discrimination through the recent passage of the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act of 2008 (“GINA”).