WHAT SHOULD EMPLOYERS DO TO COMPLY
WITH GINA TITLE II?
First of all, seek a legal counsel. This information is for educational purposes only and it is NOT
intended to be a legal advice.
In order to ensure our clients’ compliance with GINA, we recommend these 10 steps:
1. Posting: Post the new "Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law" poster in all your
facilities.
2. Employee Handbooks: Review your company's policies relating both to equal employment
opportunity as well as to discrimination, harassment and retaliation. If necessary, revise these
policies to state that your company does not tolerate discrimination on the basis of one's genetic
information.
3. Record-Keeping: Review your company's record-keeping procedures, and make sure that any
and all genetic or other medical information is maintained in a confidential medical file which is:
a) separate from an employee's other personnel information; and b) properly secured (preferably
under lock/key) in such a way to restrict access.
4. Employment-Related Forms: Review the employment forms used by your company particularly as it relates to FMLA and non-FMLA leaves of absence, disability, work and nonwork related injuries and illnesses - to ensure they do not request genetic information arbitrarily
and to limit the risks of employees’ "self-disclosure".
5. Review/revise policies, procedures, and forms related to post-offer medical examinations
to ensure that no family medical history is obtained and no genetic tests are conducted (more
below).
6. Medical/Physical Examinations: If your company requires applicants or employees to submit
to medical/physical examinations, ensure that those examinations not only are job related and
requested for all entering employees in the same job category but also refrain from inquiring
about one's family medical history or requiring individuals to undergo genetic testing (except for
employers engaging in DNA testing for example for law enforcement purposes).
7. Review/revise medical information consent forms and authorizations utilized with
Employee Assistance Programs (“EAP”). Employees may authorize their employers to receive
and share information with their EAP.
8. Wellness Programs: Review any wellness programs to ensure that the entire process—from
written authorization to communication of results—complies with GINA.
Iveta Dubravec, MD, MBA, MPH
9. Training:

Both management and non-management employees should be trained not only about
GINA's prohibitions and related provisions but also about any GINA-related changes in
the company’s policies, forms, practices or procedures.

Management employees should be trained about how to limit the risk of employee "selfdisclosure" and to address and respond to inadvertent disclosures of genetic information
in order to minimize your company's legal exposure.

Human resources personnel and “first-line responders” regarding the new GINA
prohibitions, including how to address employee concerns or complaints about possible
genetic discrimination, related privacy violations, and retaliation.

Human Resources personnel and decision-makers related to the hiring or termination of
employees so that decisions are not made on the basis of genetic information or family
medical history.
10. Disclosure of genetic information. Employers are advised to adopt policies and procedures
for disclosure of genetic information under limited circumstances, such as:
 In response to a court order;
 To the employee (or family member) about whom the information pertains - upon the
employee’s or family member’s written request;
 To an occupational or other health researcher conducting research;
 To government officials investigating compliance with Title II of GINA, if the
information is relevant to the investigation;
 To a public health agency, but only with regard to information about the manifestation of
a disease or disorder that concerns a contagious disease that presents an imminent hazard
of death or life-threatening illness.
Iveta Dubravec, MD, MBA, MPH
Spectrum Health
Occupational Services
Iveta Dubravec, MD, MBA, MPH