dashrconsulting.com » GINA

GINA: 5 Things Employers Need to do Immediately!

Di Ann Sanchez — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 17:00:08 +0000

Genetic Information is the most recent protected characteristic (such as race, religion, and sex) to be added to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) of 2008 [Public Law 110-233, H.R. 493, S. 358] was signed into law by President Bush on May 21, 2008. The law prohibits health insurers and employers from discriminating on the basis of genetic information and sets a national baseline of protections from any such discrimination across the country. In the legislation, the term “genetic information” means a person’s genetic test results, the genetic test results of an individual’s family members and/or information about a genetic disease or disorder in family members.

Here are 5 things all employers need to do ASAP to be compliant with this law.

1) Revise all your EEO statements and job applications to include genetic non-discrimination.

2) Post new EEO nondiscrimination posters.

3) Train all managers on what this means. (CALL ME – I CAN HELP WITH THIS.)

4) Discontinue requests for family medical history from post offer or fitness of duty evaluations or in connection with reasonable accommodations.

5) Store genetic information in confidential medical files.

Additionally you need to be aware of the following:

Employers are barred from disclosing genetic information.
Employers cannot receive individual identifiable genetic information.
Company wellness programs that provide premium differential for completing Health Risk Assessments, and ask for family history, may violate GINA if there are incentives given.
You can be fined up to $50,000 for non-compliance!

Source: SHRM Webcast: Employment Law Trends Watch: Compliance Efforts in a year of change and Recovery. Presented by: Ilyse Shuman, Esq., ELT; and Reid Bowman, Esq., of Littler Mendelson 2/23/10

Call 817-343-0066 for a free telephone consultation to discuss Human Resources at your company.

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2009

Di Ann Sanchez — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:24:21 +0000

GINA will limit an employer’s ability to obtain genetic information as a part of a disability-related inquiry or medical examination. For example, it would prevent employers from obtaining family medical history or conducting genetic tests of post-offer job applicants.

Call 817-343-0066 for a free telephone consultation to discuss Human Resources at your company.

2009 Employer Deadlines

Di Ann Sanchez — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:34:54 +0000

Keep these dates handy and be sure to bookmark this page as I’ll update this post with new and changing dates.

Date	Requirement
4/3/09	Immigration: New Form I-9 and its requirements become effective on this date.
4/30/09	PPA: The Pension Protection Act (PPA) requires many defined benefit plans to provide information about the plan’s funding status by this date.
5/1/09	GINA: Comments on the proposed rule clarifying Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) are due to the EEOC by this date.
5/21/09	E-Verify: Federal contractors and subcontractors must use E-Verify, the electronic employment verification system operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, by this date.
5/21/09	GINA: Title I of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which applies to group health plans, takes effect, except for calendar-year plans.
7/24/09	Minimum Wage: The federal minimum wage increases to $7.25 per hour.
8/17/09	HIPAA: By this date, under amendments to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Secretary of Health and Human Services must issue interim final regulations governing a health plan’s duty to notify individuals whose protected health information has been breached. The duty to notify requirement would apply to breaches discovered on or after 30 days of these regulations being issued.
9/30/09	VETS-100A Report: By this date, federal contractors must file the VETS-100A Report for government contracts of $100,000 or more that were entered into or modified on or after Dec. 1, 2003, as well as the VETS-100 Report for any unmodified government contracts of $25,000 or more that were entered into prior to Dec. 1, 2003.
10/09/09	Health insurance: Michelle’s Law goes into effect on this date.
11/21/09	GINA: The employment provisions of GINA (Title II) take effect.

Call 817-343-0066 for a free telephone consultation to discuss Human Resources at your company.