Genetics anti-bias law takes effect

WASHINGTON — The first federal anti-discrimination law in nearly 20 years takes effect today, prohibiting employers from hiring, firing or determining promotions based on genetic makeup.

Starting Dec. 7, group health insurers will not be allowed to consider a person's genetics — such as predisposition for Parkinson's disease — to set insurance rates or deny coverage.

Not since the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 has the federal government implemented such far-reaching workplace protections. Stuart Ishimaru, acting chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, said in a statement that the law reaffirms the idea that people have a right to be judged solely on merit.

"No one should be denied a job or the right to be treated fairly in the workplace based on fears that he or she may develop some condition in the future," he said.

The National Federation of Independent Business, a nonprofit-advocacy group for small businesses, filed concerns about the law in April with the commission.

The concerns included whether employers who "innocently discover" genetic information about their workers still may be held liable for having that information in their files, the "confusing" interplay of other federal statutes and the lack of an exception for publicly available genetic information on the Internet.

The nonprofit is now seeking to teach its members that under this law any piece of medical history — whether an employee's own or that of a family member — constitutes genetic information, said Elizabeth Milito, the group's senior counsel.

Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for the industry group America's Health Insurance Plans, said that his association originally supported the bill, but that the resulting regulations ultimately will disrupt people's efforts to stay healthy through wellness and disease-management programs.

"If a patient is at risk for a particular condition, they are a good candidate to do more preventive screenings, and this would prohibit some of that information even being gathered," Zirkelbach said.

Peter Bennett, an employment-law attorney, said he knew of no pending genetic discrimination cases but expects them to pile up soon, resulting in litigation to sort out who is liable for what.