Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T23:15:34.508Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

“What About Your Genes?” Ethical, Legal, and Policy Dimensions of Genetics in the Workplace

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2016

Trudo Lemmens
Trudo Lemmens*
Affiliation:
McGill University, Canada
Get access

Abstract

Although few companies are currently applying genetic tests or using genetic data, further developments in genetics will likely increase the role of genetics in the workplace. This article discusses the complex ethical issues raised by the variety of genetic tests that could become available and proposes guidelines for dealing with genetics in the workplace. It discusses how the results of genetic testing could be used for employment purposes, and argues that the existence of unequal bargaining power in the workplace limits the validity of consent as a basis for policymaking. Instead, two specific justifications for genetic testing in the workplace are proposed: the protection of health and the avoidance of harm to others. The author suggests that genetic testing should be permitted only in exceptional circumstances and that every genetic test should be evaluated on its scientific validity and submitted to rigorous review. Existing antidiscrimination law proves to be a useful model for examining the rationality and proportionality of genetic testing in the workplace.

Type
Genetic Testing in the Workplace
Information
Politics and the Life Sciences , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , March 1997 , pp. 57 - 75
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Politics and the Life Sciences 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adelmund, K.Y.I.J. (1990). “The Role of Employees.” In Rigter, H. et al. (eds.), The Social Consequences of Genetic Testing: Proceedings of a Conference on 16-18 June 1988. The Hague: Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy.Google Scholar
Alper, J.S. (1995). “Does the ADA Provide Protection Against Discrimination on the Basis of Genotype?” Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics 23:167–72.Google Scholar
Annas, G.J., Glantz, L.H., and Roche, P. (1995). The Genetic Privacy Act and Commentary. Boston: Health Law Department.Google Scholar
Automobile Workers v. Johnson Controls (1991). 499 U.S. 187.Google Scholar
Billings, P. et al.(1992). “Discrimination as a Consequence of Genetic Testing.” American Journal of Human Genetics 50:476–82.Google Scholar
Brokaw, K. (1990). “Genetic Screening in the Workplace and Employers' Liability.” Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems 23:317–46.Google Scholar
Canter, E.F. (1984). “Employment Discrimination: Implications of Genetic Screening in the Workplace under Title VII and the Rehabilitation Act.” American Journal of Law and Medicine 10(3): 323–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Committee on Assessing Genetic Risks (1994). Assessing Genetic Risks: Implications for Health and Social Policy. Washington: National Academy Press.Google Scholar
“Developments in the Law: Employment Discrimination” (1996) Harvard Law Review 109:1568–1693.Google Scholar
Draper, E. (1986). “High Risk Workers or High Risk Work.” International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 6(4):12–28.Google Scholar
Draper, E. (1991). Risky Business: Genetic Testing and Exclusionary Practices in the Hazardous Workplace. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Draper, E. (1992). “Genetic Secrets: Social Issues of Medical Screening in a Genetic Age.” Hastings Center Report 22(4): S15–18.Google Scholar
Editorial (1996). “Have You Had a Gene Test?” The Lancet 347(8995):133.Google Scholar
Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972). 405 U.S. 438.Google Scholar
Epstein, R.A. (1994). “The Legal Regulation of Genetic Discrimination: Old Responses to New Technology.” Boston University Law Review 74(1):1–23.Google Scholar
Geller, L.N. et al.(1996). “Individual, Family, and Societal Dimensions of Genetic Discrimination: A Case Study Analysis.” Science and Engineering Ethics 2:71–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, M. (1983). Workers' Rights. Totawa: Rowman and Allanheld.Google Scholar
Glass, K.C., Weijer, C., Palmour, R.M., Lemmens, T., and Shapiro, S. (1996a). “Structuring the Review of Human Genetics Protocols: Part II: Diagnostic and Screening Studies.” IRB: A Review of Human Subjects Research, submitted.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glass, K.C., Weijer, C., Palmour, R.M., Shapiro, S.H., Lemmens, T., and Lebacqz, K. (1996b). “Structuring the Review of Human Genetics Protocols: Part I: Gene Localization and Identification Studies.” IRB: A Review of Human Subjects Research 18(4):1–9.Google Scholar
Gostin, L. (1991). “Genetic Discrimination and the Use of Genetically Based Diagnostic Tests by Employers and Insurers.” American Journal of Law and Medicine 17(1-2): 109–44.Google Scholar
Gostin, L. (1995). “Genetic Privacy.” Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics 23:320–30.Google Scholar
Greely, H.T. (1992). “Health Insurance, Employment Discrimination, and the Genetics Revolution.” In Kevles, D.J. and Hood, L. (eds.), The Code of Codes: Scientific and Social Issues in the Human Genome Project. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Grossman, M. (1994). The Law of Occupational Health and Safety. Toronto: Butterworths.Google Scholar
Grossman, B.A. and Martin, J.R. (1994). Discrimination in Employment in Ontario. Toronto: Butterworths.Google Scholar
Guay, H., Knoppers, B., and Panisset, I. (1992). “La génétique dans les domaines de l'assurance et de l'emploi.” Revue du Bareau 52(2):185–343.Google Scholar
Gurd, C.B. (1992). “Whether a Genetic Defect Is a Disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act: Preventing Genetic Discrimination by Employers.” Annals of Health Law 1:107–118.Google Scholar
Heredity, Science and Society: On the Possibility and Limits of Genetic Testing and Gene Therapy (1989). Report submitted by a Committee of the Health Council of The Netherlands. The Hague.Google Scholar
Hubbard, R. and Wald, E. (1993). Exploding the Gene Myth: How Genetic Information Is Produced and Manipulated by Scientists, Physicians, Employers, Insurance Companies, Educators and Law Enforcers. Boston: Beacon Press.Google Scholar
International Labour Office (1993). “Workers' Privacy; Part III: Testing in the Workplace.” In Conditions of Work Digest vol. 12:2. Geneva: International Labour Organization.Google Scholar
Kenney, S.J. (1992). For Whose Protection? Reproductive Hazards and Exclusionary Policies in the United States and Britain. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Kevles, D.J. (1985). In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Kevles, D.J. (1991). “Vital Essences and Human Wholeness: The Social Readings of Biological Information.” Southern California Law Review 65:255–78.Google Scholar
Kevles, D.J. and Hood, L. (1992). “Reflections.” In Kevles, D.J. and Hood, L. (eds.), The Code of Codes: Scientific and Social Issues in the Human Genome Project. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Krimsky, S. (1985). “The Corporate Capture of Academic Science and Its Social Costs.” In Milunsky, A. and Annas, G.J. (eds.), Genetics and the Law III. New York: Plenum.Google Scholar
Kuitert, H.M. (1990). “Using Genetic Data: A Moral Assessment of the Direct Social Consequences.” In Rigter, H. et al. (eds.), The Social Consequences of Genetic Testing: Proceedings of a Conference on 16-18 June 1988. The Hague: Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy.Google Scholar
Lemmens, T. (1995a). Ethical and Policy Issues of Genetic Testing in the Workplace. Thesis submitted to the Department of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Laws, Specialization Bioethics. Montreal: McGill University.Google Scholar
Lemmens, T. (1995b). “Dominium Bank's Drug Testing Program: Not Discriminatory, but Intrusive.” Canadian HIV/AIDS Policy and Law Newsletter 1(2):3–4.Google Scholar
Lemmens, T. and Bahamin, P. (1996). Genetics in Life, Disability and Additional Health Insurance in Canada: A Comparative Legal and Ethical Analysis. Report submitted to the Medical, Ethical, Legal and Social Issues Committee of the Canadian Genome Analysis and Technology Program. Montréal: Université de Montréal.Google Scholar
Lord, D. (1996). “Something in the Genes: EEOC Takes Steps to Forestall Discrimination for Predisposition to Illness.” ABA Journal (April):86Google Scholar
Marshall (1992). “The Impact of Advances in Genetics on Workplace Policy.” In Brown, R.S. and Marshall, K. (eds.), Advances in Genetic Information: A Guide for State Policy Makers. Lexington, KY: Council of State Governments.Google Scholar
Matthewman, W.D. (1984). “Title VII and Genetic Testing: Can Your Genes Screen You Out of a Job?” Howard Law Journal 27:1185–1220.Google Scholar
Messing, K. (1990). “Union-Initiated Research in Genetic Effects on Workplace Agents.” Genewatch 6(4-5):8–14.Google Scholar
Miller, J. (1994). “Physician-Patient Confidentiality and Familial Access to Genetic Information.” Health Law Journal 2:141–58.Google Scholar
Miller, F.H. and Huvos, P.A. (1994). “Genetic Blueprints, Employer Cost-Cutting, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.” Administrative Law Review 46:369–83.Google Scholar
Murray, T.H. (1983). “Warning: Screening Workers for Genetic Risks.” Hastings Center Report 13(1):5–8.Google Scholar
Natowicz, M.R., Alper, J.K., and Alper, J.S. (1992). “Genetic Discrimination and the Law.” American Journal of Human Genetics 50:465–75.Google Scholar
Nelkin, D. and Tancredi, L. (1989). “Classify and Control: Genetic Information in the Schools.” American Journal of Law and Medicine 27(1-2):51–73.Google Scholar
Nolan, K. (1992). “First Fruits: Genetic Screening.” Hastings Center Report 22(4): S.2–4.Google Scholar
Nuffield Council on Bioethics (1993). Genetic Screening: Ethical Issues. London: Nuffield Council.Google Scholar
Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), U.S. Congress (1990). Genetic Monitoring and Screening in the Workplace. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Officice.Google Scholar
Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union v. American Cyanamid Cy (1984). 741 F.2d 444 (D.C. Cir.).Google Scholar
Ontario Human Rights Commission v. Etobicoke (1982). Supreme Court Reports 1:202.Google Scholar
Ontario Law Reform Commission (1992). Report on Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace. Toronto: Ontario Law Reform Commission.Google Scholar
Posner, R.A. (1986). “The Ethical Significance of Free Choice: A Reply to Professor West.” Harvard Law Review 99:1431–48Google Scholar
Posner, R.A. (1992). Economic Analysis of the Law 4th Edition. Boston: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Privacy Commissioner of Canada (1992). Genetic Testing and Privacy. Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services.Google Scholar
Proctor, R.N. (1992). “Genomics and Eugenics: How Fair Is the Comparison?” In Annas, G.J. and Elias, S. (eds.), Gene Mapping: Using Law and Ethics as Guides. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Proulx, D. (1993). La discrimination dans l'emploi: Les moyens de défence. Cowansville, Quebec: Yvon Blais.Google Scholar
Quinn, G., McDonagh, M., and Kimber, C. (1993). Disability Discrimination Law in the United States, Australia and Canada. Dublin: Oak Tree Press.Google Scholar
Robinson v. Canada (1992). 15 Canadian Human Rights Reporter D/95, par.95.Google Scholar
Rothstein, M.A. (1983). “Employee Selection Based on Susceptibility to Occupational Illness.” Michigan Law Review 81:1379–1496.Google Scholar
Rothstein, M.A. (1994). “Genetic Discrimination in Employment: Ethics, Policy and Comparative Law.” In Swiss Institute of Comparative Law (ed.), Human Genetic Analysis and the Protection of Personality and Privacy. Zürich: Schulthess Polygraphisher Verlag.Google Scholar
Rowinski, L. (1988). “Genetic Testing in the Workplace.” Journal of Contemporary Health Law and Policy 4:375–413.Google Scholar
Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies (1992). Proceed with Care: Final Report of the Commission on New Reproductive Technologies. Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services.Google Scholar
Seifert, L.J. (1984). “Monitoring Employees for Genetic Alteration: Is State Regulation Essential?” Pacific Law Journal 349–79.Google Scholar
Shapiro, R. (1991). The Human Blueprint: The Race to Unlock the Secrets of Our Genetic Script. New York: St. Martin's Press.Google Scholar
Suter, S.M. (1993). “Whose Genes Are These Anyway? Familial Conflicts over Access to Genetic Information.” Michigan Law Review 91:1854–1908.Google Scholar
Taylor, C. (1989). Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Taylor, C. (1991). The Malaise of Modernity. Concord: Anansi.Google Scholar
Viscusi, W.K. (1983). Risk by Choice: Regulating Health and Safety in the Workplace. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Wachbroit, R. (1988). “Making the Grade: Testing for Human Genetic Disorders.” Hofstra Law Review 16:583–99.Google Scholar
Weinreb, L.L. (1987). Natural Law and Justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Wertz, D.C. (1995a). “Professional Perspectives: A Survey of Canadian Providers.” Health Law Journal 3:59–130.Google Scholar
Wertz, D.C. (1995b). “Canadian Geneticists' Views: A Survey of the CCMG and CAGC.” Presented at the 5th Annual Conference of the Canadian Bioethics Society, Ottawa, 18-21 November 1995.Google Scholar
West, R. (1985). “Authority, Autonomy and Choice: The Role of Consent in the Moral and Political Visions of Franz Kafka and Richard Posner.” Harvard Law Review 99:384–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood v. Omaha School District (1994). 25 F.3d 667 (8th Cir.).Google Scholar