Genetic Bias Law Might Better Serve as Privacy Protection

A decade-old genetic anti-bias law may be working better as a privacy law, making it illegal for companies to access their employees’ genetic information. The law bans discrimination on the basis of genetic data in health insurance and employment, but there hasn’t been a successful case during the life of the statute, legal scholars say.

Unlikelihood of Success: The EEOC has only filed 12 cases under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, Bloomberg Law data show. The cases haven’t been successful because it’s rare that an employer would know about a worker’s genetic predisposition to an illness. In addition, ...