The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought a class action suit against an employer for violations of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). Under GINA, employers cannot discriminate against employees or job applicants because of their genetic information, including family medical history.
The EEOC brought a GINA class action against three California farm suppliers. The employers required job applicants to fill out a pre-employment survey with questions about medical conditions and family medical history. The applicants also had to take a physical exam. The EEOC found that the disability-related information and family medical history questions on the applicant screening were not related to the job requirements.
Employers should pay attention to all pre-employment inquiries, as questions about non-job related medical questions may cause the employer to violate GINA requirements.