AbbVie Beats Worker’s Suit Over Family Medical History Queries

Abbvie Inc. defeated a proposed class action alleging workers were illegally asked to disclose their protected genetic information during pre-employment medical exams.

Lead plaintiff Daniel Henry failed to show that the pharmaceutical company conditioned his employment on a request for genetic information as required to establish liability under the Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act, Judge Manish S. Shah said March 20 for the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Shah granted AbbVie’s motion for summary judgment. He previously denied AbbVie’s motion to dismiss after rejecting the company’s argument that the family medical history information sought in the ...