On November 21, 2009, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) went into effect. This law prohibits discrimination by employers and health insurers on the basis of genetic information. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the anti-genetic discrimination laws of many states already provided some protection against genetic discrimination, but this federal law now clearly prohibits these practices:

• Discrimination based on an employer’s genetic predisposition against certain illnesses in hiring, compensation, promotions and other employment decisions
• The collection and disclosure of genetic information by employers
• Enrollment restrictions and premium adjustments based on genetic information by insurers
• Retaliation against individuals who exercise their rights under GINA

GINA is the first civil rights law of the 21st Century, and the first significant legal change to the federal discrimination laws since the 1990s.

For an overview of the new law and clear explanations of how it affects you as an employer, download the ComplyRight™ Now E-Guide: New Genetic Discrimination Law: What It Means for Employers.

Who has to comply with this law?

Generally speaking, all employers with 15 or more employees are covered by the new law.

How will the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act affect my labor law posters?

• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has updated their Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law poster to include regulations from the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, as well as the ADA Amendments Act.
• The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act also included a provision to increase penalties for child labor violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), effective May 21, 2008. Section 302 of GINA raises the maximum penalty to $50,000 for each violation with the possibility of up to $100,000 in penalties for cases in which the employer’s violation is repeated or willful. The increased penalties apply to death or serious injury to children after May 21, 2008. The U.S. Department of Labor updated the FLSA poster with the increased child labor penalties on July 3, 2009. However, the July 2007 version of the FLSA poster is still compliant.

Not sure if you're in posting compliance? Get your free posting analysis at www.freeposteraudit.com. You can get the updated posters automatically as regulations change by enrolling in Poster Guard® Compliance Protection, the easiest way to stay in compliance with all federal and state labor law posting requirements.

What employers need to do to comply with the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

First, ensure your employee medical records procedures comply with GINA by maintaining all documentation related to an employee’s health, medical condition or treatment in a secure location and in a confidential file separate from other personnel records. GINA requires that genetic information about an employee or applicant be maintained in a separate medical file and kept discretely as a confidential medical record.

Our Confidential Employee Medical Records Folder is the perfect solution for storing confidential employee medical information.

Second, revisit your Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policies to ensure they comply with the new law. This means including a provision that states in your employee handbook the company does not discriminate on the basis of genetic information with respect to employment decisions.

For an easy to way to update your employee handbook, see Gradience® Handbook Manager, personnel software that makes it simple to create a customized employee handbook based on your company’s location, industry and size.

Because GINA relates to applicants as well as employees, your job applications also should be updated to include a similar EEO provision.

Our legal team is dedicated to keeping you up to date on any further news regarding the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. Keep checking this page for additional updates.