Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Updates
12/22/2010By
The EEOC enforces federal anti-discrimination laws and receives, investigates, and resolves charges of employment discrimination. Here are some 4th quarter updates:
EEOC Issues Final GINA Regulations Effective 1/10/11
Title II of the Genetic Discrimination Information Act of 2008 (GINA) prohibits employment discrimination based on genetic information and restricts the acquisition and disclosure of genetic information. It was effective November 21, 2009, and applies to private employers with 15 or more employees, among other entities.
Passage of GINA by Congress anticipated the increasing use of genetic tests to determine one’s risk for specific diseases and the resulting potential for employment discrimination based on this knowledge.
According to the law and final regulations, genetic information includes:
• Information about the genetic tests of an individual or a family member;
• Family medical history;
• Requests for, and receipt of, genetic services by an individual or family member; and
• Genetic information about a fetus carried by an individual or family member, or about an embryo legally held by the individual or family member using reproductive technology.
On November 9, 2010, after months of reviewing public comments, the EEOC issued final implementing regulations of the law’s employment provisions, effective January 10, 2011. The EEOC’s press release stated that:
“The final regulations provide examples of genetic tests; more fully explain GINA’s prohibition against requesting, requiring or purchasing genetic information; provide model language employers can use when requesting medical information from employees to avoid acquiring genetic information; and describe how GINA applies to genetic information obtained via electronic media, including websites and social networking sites.”
These final regulations also describe six narrow exceptions to GINA’s prohibition against requesting, requiring, or purchasing medical information, such as when the information is acquired inadvertently or as part of health or genetic services, including wellness programs provided on a voluntary basis.
For more information about GINA’s restrictions and exceptions, and about how to request health-related information from or about an employee in compliance with GINA:
• Contact the Trusight HR Hotline at [email protected];
• Go to the EEOC website at https://www.eeoc.gov/ and click on The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA)
FY 2010 EEOC Report with Discrimination Charge Data
The EEOC recently announced its progress in rebuilding its capacity to enforce civil rights laws in the workplace. During the 2010 fiscal year (ending 9/30/10), the EEOC:
• received the highest number of discrimination charges (99,922) in its 45 year history;
• secured the highest level of monetary benefits ($319 million) for victims of workplace discrimination;
• replenished its depleted ranks with scores of new hires, initiating the largest employee training effort in a decade; and
• significantly reduced its backlog of pending charges.
This data from the EEOC’s FY 2010 report should reinforce employer vigilance in preventing and addressing issues of potential discrimination.
Recent EEOC Enforcement Activity
Recent examples of the EEOC’s enforcement capability include these settlements announced November/December 2010:
• AKAL Security, Inc., will pay 1.62 million to a class of 26 female security guards to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit filed by the agency. AKAL had forced its pregnant guards to take leave, discharged them because of pregnancy, and retaliated when a complaint was made.
• IESI, a national waste removal firm, settled a charge of disability discrimination for $95,000 when it admitted it fired a truck driver with dyslexia who was performing the essential functions of his job.
• Scrub, Inc., a janitorial services company, agreed to pay $3 million to settle a racial discrimination suit alleging that it had failed to hire black applicants for entry-level janitorial services at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.
For more information, go to https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/plan/2010par.cfm or contact Debra Dorgan, Director Employment Law & Research, at [email protected] or 763.253.9730.