Danger Of Genetic Data In Workplace Cited

A prestigious coalition of health experts and ethicists Thursday called for legislation or other measures to protect against abuse of an individual’s genetic information in the workplace - for example, using the data to deny jobs, promotions, insurance coverage or other benefits.

In recent years, rapidly growing technology and other advances have enabled geneticists to find disease-related genes in human DNA and to develop new tests to detect who carries them. At the same time, health officials say that many people who might otherwise benefit from knowing about their inherited risks for certain diseases have chosen to avoid these tests out of fear that such information will be used against them.

“Genetics is giving us our best hope yet of understanding what goes wrong at the most fundamental level when disease occurs,” said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. “But if people are worried … they will be unable to take advantage of the enormous opportunities genetics research offers.”

The recommendations to provide protection against abuse of genetic data are published in today’s issue of the journal Science and come from experts representing the federal government and the private sector convened to explore the social, ethical and legal ramifications of the research.

Under the group’s recommendations, employers would be forbidden from using genetic information to affect the status of a worker unless a specific job-related connection to obtaining such information could be proved.