Outbreaks of influenza and other viruses aren't unusual during the winter months. Once in a while, a particularly virulent viral strain captures the headlines. Such villains include the "Spanish flu" of 1918, SARS in 2002 and 2003, and H1N1 (the "swine flu") in 2009. Now, the coronavirus is grabbing public attention and causing widespread...
The federal Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) prohibits employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, and joint labor management committees from discriminating against employees based on genetic information.
It also prohibits insurers from charging higher premiums based on genetic information or from using genetic...
On December 17, 2013, the Charles County Board of Education agreed to pay $225,000 to settle a former employee's claim that the board transferred her, demoted her, and left her no choice but to quit after she complained about being groped and sexually harassed by her boss.
Stephanie Rosa was an assistant in the school system's food service...
Employers may not request family medical history from employees or applicants, even as part of a postoffer medical exam. In its first lawsuit to allege a violation of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued an employer whose contracted medical examiner required applicants to...
A Wisconsin Employment Law Letter reader recently asked whether an employer can disclose an employee's performance review to its board of directors. The reader specified that the employee had been asked to leave the company, and the employer wanted to share his performance reviews with the board to justify its decision. Employers that question...
Employers may not request family medical history from employees or applicants, even as part of a postoffer medical exam. In its first lawsuit to allege a violation of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued an employer whose contracted medical examiner required applicants to...
Those of us in HR and the field of employment law sometimes feel like we're being force-fed a veritable alphabet soup of federal statutes. We have to mind our p's and q's under the FLSA, FMLA, ADA, ADAAA, and ADEA, just to name a few. But there's a relatively young law that some of you may not be aware of: the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination...
The omnibus final rule issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in January 2013 set forth implementing regulations under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) as well as the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA). The final rule contains a number of significant...
Court awards EEOC $240 million judgment. A jury in Davenport, Iowa, on May 1 awarded the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) damages totaling $240 million—the largest verdict in EEOC history—for disability discrimination and severe abuse. The jury agreed with the EEOC that Hill Country Farms, doing business as Henry's Turkey...
Court awards EEOC $240 million judgment. A jury in Davenport, Iowa, on May 1 awarded the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) damages totaling $240 million—the largest verdict in EEOC history—for disability discrimination and severe abuse. The jury agreed with the EEOC that Hill Country Farms, doing business as Henry's Turkey...
