Can employers put genetic information to good use?

• Position: Is There a Pink Slip in Your Genes? Genetic Discrimination in Employment and Health Insurance - Transcript

1. INTRODUCTION

   In my talk today I am going to try to answer the question: Can employers put genetic information to good use? Preparing this talk was a challenge because it required me to switch sides of the table. Having represented plaintiffs in employment discrimination cases for ten years, my inclination is to focus on the ways that employers can use genetic information to the detriment of their workers. I chose to talk about the value of genetic information from the employers' perspective because I wanted to force myself to engage in a disciplined study of the issues, rather than simply don the hat of an employee advocate.

   Many employee advocates argue that employers should never have any access to their employees' genetic information. What I want to do today is identify situations in which employers could use employees' genetic information to benefit themselves and their employees. In giving these examples, I am not advocating that employers have unlimited access to employees' genetic information. Rather, I am suggesting that with adequate controls there is the potential for employers to utilize employees' genetic information in ways that are socially valuable.

   For the purposes of this talk, I am focusing on employees whose genetic propensities for certain diseases are not yet expressed, understanding, of course, what Dr. Zahka said earlier, that this can be a hard line to draw. There are two ways to think about using genetic information in the employment context. One is to look at an individual employee's genetic information, and the other is to focus on the genetic traits represented by a pool of employees. (2)

2. ACCESS TO INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEE'S GENETIC INFORMATION

   I will turn first to genetic information about individual employees. Employers could use genetic information to identify "costly" employees, i.e. those employees whose genome indicates that they could develop diseases that could lead to increased health insurance costs, absenteeism, disability claims, and workers' compensation claims. (3) Clearly, without the threat of sanctions, many employers will use this information to refuse to hire or to terminate employees who are likely to become expensive in these ways. I think we can agree that no good comes from this sort of genetic discrimination.

   When, in this talk, I highlight ways that employers could put genetic information to good use, I am not advocating for these discriminatory employment practices. Indeed, we should not even consider endorsing "good" uses for genetic information until effective protections against genetic discrimination are in place.

   1. Identifying Employees Who are Susceptible to Developing Specific Diseases

      Employers could use employees' genetic information to provide preventative medical care. For example, if a genetic test revealed that an employee was at risk for developing diabetes, an employer could refer the employee to an employee assistance plan that could recommend preventative measures that might actually decrease the odds of the employee developing diabetes. (4) Several years ago, Wells Fargo implemented a twenty-four hour disease management program for its employees with diabetes. (5) Although the Wells Fargo employees were already symptomatic, there is no reason why similar programs could not be implemented proactively with the goal of reducing the expression of genetic diseases.

      The potential benefits of proactive programs are obvious. Employers could experience a reduction in their health and disability insurance claims, lower absenteeism and turnover, increased worker productivity, and better returns on any investments they make in training employees. It is also possible that insurance companies would discount instance premiums for employers who implemented these types of programs. From the employees' perspective, employer-sponsored medical assistance programs could improve their overall well-being and, in some cases, prolong their lives. Society would benefit as well. Whenever we can reduce...