The President is expected to sign the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (H.R. 493) into law.
Specifically, the law prohibits employers from discriminating against
employees based on genetic information. It also prohibits
insurance companies from requiring genetic tests and using any genetic
information for underwriting purposes.
The legislation has overwhelmingly passed Congress. The Senate
passed it 95-0, and the House passed it 414-1 (Ron Paul was the one
vote against the bill).
Hans Bader of the Competitive Enterprise Institute points
out some concerns with this law. In my previous life, I was
working on a project dealing with the impact increased genetic
knowledge would have on society and particularly the business
community. There certainly are concerns regarding discrimination
and privacy. There also though are concerns regarding liability.
If nothing else, it is a very interesting issue.
