EEOC Proposes Records Rule on Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued a proposed rule under which employers would be required to maintain all relevant employment and personnel records until any charge filed under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act is resolved.

The 2008 law prohibits employment discrimination based on genetic information.
The EEOC said that employers already have this record-keeping requirement with respect to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The proposed regulation would extend those same requirements to records relevant to any GINA charge. The EEOC said there would be no increased burden due to the proposal because firms’ “systems for retaining employment records under Title VII and ADA records are already in place.”

The proposed regulation was published June 2 in the Federal Register. Comments, which are due by Aug. 1 can be submitted online at regulations.gov.

Separately, the EEOC said it plans to hold a public hearing at its headquarters June 8 at which panelists will discuss the appropriate use of disability leave as a reasonable accommodation, and complying with relevant regulations.

Additional information about the hearing, when available, will be posted at eeoc.gov/eeoc/meetings/index.cfm.  

Filed by Judy Greenwald of Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, email editors@workforce.com.

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