“Gina works the diner all day, working for her man, she brings home her pay…”
But if her employer starts asking about her family medical history, we might have a problem. Not with Bon Jovi—but with GINA, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. If you’re not sure what that means, this post is your compliance crash course. Continue reading
Yesterday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the release of a new fact sheet titled “Wearables in the Workplace: The Use of Wearables and Other Monitoring Technology Under Federal Employment Discrimination Laws.” This document is crucial for human resources professionals as it provides guidance on using wearable technologies in compliance with federal employment discrimination laws. Here, I’ll summarize the key points of the fact sheet and offer some essential takeaways for HR professionals.
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) forbids discrimination against employees or applicants because of genetic information. Specifically, Title II of GINA prohibits using genetic information in making employment decisions, restricts employers from requesting, requiring, or purchasing genetic information, and strictly limits the disclosure of genetic information.
While GINA has been in effect for over ten years, it gets very little attention. Employees bring fewer discrimination charges under GINA than any other federal antidiscrimination statute that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission administers. But that doesn’t make it any less important or expensive when violations arise.
Check this out. Continue reading
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) posted a pre-recorded webinar addressing questions arising under any of the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Laws and the COVID-19 pandemic. The video can be seen on YouTube or in the video player below. A transcript of the webinar is also available. Continue reading
Without any fanfare or press release (sigh), the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated its list of frequently asked questions entitled “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws.”
The update is limited to guidance on vaccinations. So, you’d think that it would be easy to tell what the EEOC updated.
Yeah, you’d think that.
Image Credit: The Noun Project
On Monday, several business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and The Society for Human Resource Management, wrote this letter to Charlotte Burrows, the new Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
There’s just one thing they’ve got to know! Continue reading
Image by Hayley Zacha from Pixabay
I wonder if, in light of their recently-proposed rules, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission would consider a joint a small enough incentive from employers to encourage their employees to participate in a company wellness program.
Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay
Approximately 6 hours and 37 minutes after my blog post yesterday about “Preparing for Exceptions To Your Business’s COVID-19 Vaccine Program” went live, I received an email from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
It read something like this: Continue reading
You can either read it here. Or, you can relax with a morning scotch latte and watch me explain it in this latest video from The Employer Handbook YouTube Channel. (Click here to subscribe).
Either way, enjoy! Continue reading
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