Witnesses, Republicans Condemn Genetic Discrimination in The Workplace

Witnesses and Republican Members of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions today condemned the discrimination of workers based on their genetic makeup, while urging the careful consideration of federal legislation aimed to safeguard against genetic discrimination in employment and health insurance decisions.

To date, a 2001 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) case involving the genetic testing of employees of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad is the only documented case of alleged discrimination by a private sector employer on which Congress has details.  Burlington Northern agreed to pay the employees $2.2 million in the settlement of the case, underscoring questions about the need for federal legislative action on this issue, particularly with more than thirty states already having enacted laws to restrict the use of genetic information for health insurance and employment purposes. Read more at republicans.edlabor.house.gov.