Access
This article is part of Nature's premium content.
Published online 25 April 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.780
News
Banning genetic discrimination
US close to a law preventing discrimination based on genes.
The US Senate has voted unanimously to outlaw genetic discrimination.
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act bans US employers from using genetic information in hiring, firing, promotion and compensation decisions, and from collecting genetic information from employees.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
Comments
Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email redesign@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.
If I may be so uncouth, WOHOO!! This administration has been one of the most anti-science in recent history, but I'm glad to see it's not stuck all the way through. Now that we've got some legal protections in place, there won't be as much fear of genetic research turning the world Gataca on us.
I wonder if this actually has meaningful effect on insurance companies. If you carefully read the fine print of the form you are required to sign when you give a body fluid sample for insurance purposes, you will find that it gives the insurer the right to run any test they want to. Your only alternative is to decline the insurance.