AFFIRMATIVE — EMPLOYMENT — GENETIC SCREENING — INHERENCY 294

FEDERAL LAWS ARE INADEQUATE

CURRENT FEDERAL LAW IS AN INADEQUATE PROTECTION OF PRIVACY OF GENETIC INFORMATION

Deron H. Brown, JD Candidate, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Spring 2000; Thomas Jefferson Law Review, "Book Review: Privacy in the Information Age," EE2001-hxm lxnx

Given the speed at which technology is advancing in the field of human molecular genetics, there is a grave danger that the results of genetic tests and other genetic information may be misused by employers and insurers. Protection against discrimination based on genetic information is inadequate under the current scheme of state and federal law. As discussed above, there is significant uncertainty in current federal protections against genetic discrimination. The language in HIPAA is limited, and the application of the ADA to genetic information is uncertain. There has been significant recent effort on the part of state legislatures to remedy this situation. However, this effort has been focused on insurance reform while less attention has been paid to the potential for employment discrimination. In addition, preemption by ERISA severely limits the reach of state legislative protections.

THERE IS NO FEDERAL LAW PROTECTING GENETIC PRIVACY

Charles Sykes, Senior Fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Institute, THE END OF PRIVACY, 1999, EE2001 -JGM, p. 129

Despite the high stakes, there is no comprehensive federal law that provides workers or anyone else with protection against the invasion of genetic privacy. As an analysis by the Labor Departmrmy noted in 1998, the few protections that do exist are incidental, "narrow in scope," and "not well established." Although the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 did prohibit health plans from using any health status, including genetic information, as a basis for denying or limiting coverage, the law did nothing to stop the gathering or use of such information for noninsurance purposes.