The Burr Broadcast – Labor and Employment Update
Employers are facing new potential legal risks under the federal Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) and the Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA) over inquiries in routine employment physicals...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: While the plaintiffs’ bar has aggressively pursued class actions under the Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) in recent years, these cases soon may be rivaled by the influx of class actions brought...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A group of job applicants recently filed a lawsuit against Ford Motor Company asserting violations of the rarely-cited Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act (“GIPA”). In the complaint, the plaintiffs...more
Join Burr & Forman for “The Burr Broadcast,” where our attorneys provide you quick updates on important labor and employment trends you need to know. This week, Cayman L. Caven discusses a recent EEOC finding of genetic...more
Medical Practice Agrees Not to Collect COVID Testing Results From Employees’ Family Members - TAMPA, Fla. – Brandon Dermatology, a Tampa Bay-based medical practice, will compensate affected employees and furnish other...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proposed two new regulations on January 7 applying the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) to...more
Synopsis: For years, employers have struggled to understand what level of incentives in wellness programs might be considered “voluntary” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). ...more
INTRODUCTION - On 7 January 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proposed two new rules designed to clarify the scope of incentives that employers may offer employees as part of a wellness program...more
On December 16, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued guidance about how federal equal employment opportunity laws (“EEO laws”) may apply to potential employer requirements that employees be...more
Early in 2019, social media feeds, from Instagram to Twitter and Facebook, were filled with “10-Year Challenge” posts. To participate, users posted side-by-side pictures from 2009 and 2019, respectively, with...more
Wellness programs have been, and continue to be, of interest to both employees and employers. Employees are more and more aware of healthy living initiatives. ...more
I had very interesting conversations with both of my classes in the last week over the sharing of genetic information in the context of learning about the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA)....more
The growth of direct-to-consumer DNA kits is a big deal with significant ramifications for the life insurance industry. Direct-to-consumer DNA kits, commonly used to track ancestry roots, increasingly allow individuals to...more
GINA—that elusive law about employers collecting genetic information that rarely comes up. What if an employee voluntarily shares his genetic history—can he turn around and claim his employer improperly acquired the genetic...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: New Year’s resolutions typically address health and well-being. Many among us have resolved this year to get off the couch, to sweat a bit more often to the “oldies,” to meditate and be mindful, and to eat...more
On May 16, 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued regulations governing the treatment of wellness programs under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”), as well as under the...more
As we alluded in our “Preparing for the Unknown: Open Enrollment 2018” blog post, employers that are finalizing their employee benefit plan designs in advance of the 2018 plan year would be well-advised to monitor the...more
For years, employers have been trying to find the right incentives for employees to embrace wellness programs. If incentives are too meager, employees are not likely to participate. If they are weighted too heavily in favor...more
Q. Are the EEOC’s Wellness Program rules still valid? A. The ADA and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act both permit an employer to seek medical information as part of a wellness program if the employee...more
On Tuesday, August 22, the US District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the EEOC to revisit its controversial rules placing certain limits on employer-sponsored wellness programs under the Americans with...more
When is a financial incentive in an employee-sponsored wellness program so high that employees can’t afford not to participate—rendering the program no longer voluntary? Well (pun intended), the District Court for the...more
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia invalidated the EEOC’s final regulations on the operation of voluntary wellness programs under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Genetic discrimination lawsuits can result in substantial costs. California employers should regularly review their hiring and employment policies and procedures to ensure that they are not exposing...more
Employees who don’t want to disclose genetic information about themselves and their families to their employers may have to pay a stiff price for that privacy in the future. The Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act (H.R....more
House bill HR 1313, introduced by Representative Virginia Foxx (R.N.C.), proposes to allow companies to require employees to undergo genetic testing, then allow employers to see the results, and impose financial penalties on...more