Someone repeatedly defecated in the warehouse and the employer conducted an investigation. Two employees were at work at the time of the foul conduct; the employer ordered them to give a DNA sample – by submitting to a cheek swab. A laboratory then compared the employees’ DNA to DNA from the feces. It was a technical yet simple test – the analysis identified genetic spacers, which vary drastically from person to person. The employees sued under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”), claiming the employer had unlawfully obtained their genetic information. The employer argued that “genetic information” as used in GINA refers only to information about a person’s chances of coming down with a disease or disorder, not to spacers between the genes.
On summary judgment, the court ruled that the analysis of genetic spacers was still genetic information because it was analysis of DNA and detected genotypes and mutations. Thus, the company violated GINA. The court then held a trial on damages and the jury awarded over $2.2 million. It’s a case of the employer seeking too much proof. Sometimes you have to act on the suspicion alone. Lowe v. Atlas Logistics Grp. Retail Servs. Atlanta, LLC, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58546 (N.D. Ga. May 5, 2015), No: 1:13-CV-02425 (N.D. Ga. June 22, 2015).
Click here for the summary judgment decision and here for the jury verdict.
