An employer violated the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act when it asked applicants and employees for information about their medical history, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in a lawsuit filed Sept. 17.
BNV Home Care Agency, Inc., a New York City home care services agency, required applicants to complete an “Employee Health Assessment” after offering them jobs but before hiring them. It also required employees to complete the assessment annually, according to the suit.
The assessment requested that workers disclose any illnesses experienced by family members including health conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, mental illness, epilepsy and cancer, the commission alleged.
This request violated GINA because the law prevents employers from requesting genetic information including family medical history or using that information in the hiring process, the commission said. “GINA is clear: employers cannot ask applicants or employees for their family medical history,” said Robert D. Rose, an EEOC regional attorney, in a press release. “The EEOC will pursue these cases to the fullest extent of the law to ensure that such genetic inquiries are never made of applicants or employees.”
The unlawful policy affected thousands of applicants and employees and was implemented “with malice and reckless disregard for federally protected rights,” EEOC alleged.
The commission asked that the court grant a permanent injunction prohibiting BNV from seeking genetic information from workers. It also requested that the court assess punitive damages and award EEOC the cost of the lawsuit (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. BNV Home Care Agency, Inc., No. 14-cv-5441 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 17, 2014)).
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