Mesa / Phoenix Law Firm Counsels Employers to Avoid Genetic Discrimination

Mesa, AZ (PRWEB) November 19, 2009

Employers must beware of a new area of potential liability under federal employment law: discrimination based on genetic information of their applicants and employees.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), which goes in effect on November 21, 2009, prohibits employers from making employment decisions - such as hiring, termination, promotion, pay, and fringe benefits - based on genetic information of their employees and applicants.

The law is designed to protect the ever-increasing amount of genetic information becoming available because of advances in the sciences of biotechnology and genomics.

Under the statute, "genetic information" includes information about:

•     Genetic tests of applicants, employees, or their family members.
•     Manifestation of diseases or disorders in family members (family medical history).
•     Requests for or receipt of genetic services by applicants, employees or their family members.

"The recent advances in genetics have made it possible to discern incredible amounts of information from genetic tests," said attorney Scott Gibson, managing partner of Gibson Ferrin & Riggs, PLC in Mesa, Arizona. "The law ensures that employment decisions are not made based on that genetic information."

Gibson, who has an LLM in Biotechnology and Genomics from the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, represents businesses in employment related matters.

Employers must post new EEO Posters in the workplace explaining the requirements of GINA. Free copies of the required posters are available at the EEOC website at http://www.eeoc.gov/self_print_poster.pdf or http://www.eeoc.gov/gina_supplement.pdf.

Employers should ensure that the updated posters are in place by November 21, 2009. Failure to display State and Federal required posters can result in fines of up to $17,000.

The attorneys at Gibson Ferrin & Riggs, PLC concentrate their practice on serving individuals, families and small business owners with business-related and employment law issues, family law and estate planning. They can help identify and assess the interests that matter most to their clients and work to preserve, promote and protect them. Visit their website at http://www.gfrlegal.com and their blog at http://www.biziboom.com. The firm's expertise in commercial litigation and business, family and estate law is recognized throughout the Phoenix / Mesa area.

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