>Last May, President George Bush signed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). This legislation protects Americans from discrimination based on their genetic information when it comes to health insurance and employment.
What does this mean for imagers? Those based in the US will need to display a revised Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) poster by November 21, 2009. You can order or print your own copy of the poster at the EEOC’s website.
Additionally, this means that any information about an employee’s genetics cannot be used in hiring, firing or promotion decisions or health insurance access. For example, if you have an employee that has tested positive for the gene that causes a specific kind of cancer, this information can not be used in employment-related decisions. Nor can this employee be denied access to your health insurance plan if they are otherwise qualified for it.
If you have any questions related to this, please email me at katy@sgia.org.
Submitted by: Katy Lellelid