| ary 20, 1998, Vice President Al Gore called for federal | | | | discrimination, nearly one-fifth of people who have a |
| legislation to bar employers from discriminating against | | | | family member with a genetic disorder reported being |
| employees on the basis of their genetic makeup. | | | | discriminated against by employers, insurers, and |
| Progress in genetics should not become a new | | | | others. |
| excuse for discrimination, Mr. Gore said. Genetic | | | | A 1995 Harris poll revealed that over 85% of |
| discrimination is wrongand it’s time we ended | | | | Americans are concerned about insurers or employers |
| it. | | | | having access to their genetic information. Another |
| The Vice President also released an administration | | | | study showed that many high-risk people refuse to |
| report, "Genetic Information and the Workplace," which | | | | take advantage of new genetic tests for fear of losing |
| documents problems of current and future genetic | | | | their jobs or their insurance. |
| discrimination in the workplace and outlines principles | | | | Legislative Protection |
| for federal legislation to guard against these abuses | | | | Although 14 states have widely varying laws to |
| (see information at end of this article). Such legislation | | | | provide some protection against workplace |
| would forbid employers to request or require genetic | | | | discrimination, the need for federal protection has been |
| information, prevent on-the-job discrimination, and | | | | recognized by Congress with the introduction of |
| ensure that genetic information is not disclosed without | | | | numerous bills with bipartisan support. Three |
| the explicit permission of the individual. | | | | stand-alone bills would amend existing civil rights or |
| Workplace Report | | | | labor laws to protect workers against employment |
| The report states that more and more employers are | | | | discrimination based on genetic information (S. 1045, |
| using genetic testing and monitoring as a condition of | | | | Sen. Tom Daschle; H.R. 2275, Rep. Nita Lowey; and |
| employment. One study found that by the year 2000, | | | | H.R. 2215, Rep. Joseph Kennedy). Two additional bills |
| 15% of employers plan to check the genetic status of | | | | include worker protections against discrimination based |
| prospective employees and their dependents before | | | | on genetic information as part of broader proposals |
| making job offers. The report also notes that genetic | | | | addressing the use of genetic information (S. 422, Sen. |
| information already is being used to discriminate in the | | | | Pete Domenici; H.R. 2198, Rep. Cliff Stearns). |
| workforce. In addition to numerous individual cases of | | | | |