The last 12 months have seen what is certainly the most active period of federal employment legislation and regulation changes in the last 25 years. A spate of new laws – with more likely to arrive in upcoming months – has left employers scrambling to comply.
The deluge started on May 21, 2008, when President Bush signed into law the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). GINA prohibits employers from using genetic information in hiring, firing, pay, or promotion decisions. GINA also applies to health insurers, and prohibits them from rejecting coverage or raising premiums for healthy individuals based on personal or familial genetic predisposition to develop particular diseases. GINA also forbids health insurers from requiring a genetic test.
In Fall 2008, Congress passed the Americans With Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA). Effective January 1, 2009, this sweeping amendment to the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) overturns a number of Supreme Court decisions and completely changes the legal landscape under the ADA.
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