The EEOC’s final regulations under GINA take a broad and expansive view of the general prohibition on seeking genetic information.  For instance, the regulations make clear that an employer may violate GINA without a specific intent to acquire genetic information.

However, there is an exception to the general prohibition on seeking genetic information that is applicable to lawful requests by employers for medical information sought in the context of requested leaves and accommodations.  But this exception applies only if the employer affirmatively informs both employees and their healthcare providers from whom such information is sought that the employer is not seeking genetic information in response to its request for medical information. Continue reading You Are Covered by GINA Even if You Don’t Elicit Genetic Information →

Last year, a federal district court in Illinois approved a settlement in the amount of $6.2 million between the EEOC and Sears Roebuck & Co.  The EEOC had brought a class action against Sears Roebuck & Co. claiming that it had violated the ADA by having an inflexible policy of terminating injured employees who had exhausted their workers’ compensation leaves rather than seeking ways to return them to work.  As part of the consent decree, Sears agreed that, prior to terminating an employee for exhausting their leave requirements, Sears would contact the employee to provide them with the opportunity to request potential accommodations, including possibly additional leave, to enable them to return to work. See http://www.eeoc.gov/ for EEOC’s discussion of the Sears’ settlement.Since then, both the EEOC  and private plaintiffs have filed a salvo of class actions, alleging that the following types of policies/practices violate the ADA: Continue reading EEOC Continues Its Assault on Automatic Termination Provisions in LOA Policies →