Last week, California’s Governor Jerry Brown passed SB 559, which amends the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the Fair Employment and Housing Act to include “genetic Information” as an impermissible basis of discrimination. “Genetic information” is defined by the law as any of the following information regarding an individual: (i)  The individual’s genetic tests. (ii)  The genetic tests of family members of the individual. (iii)  The manifestation of a disease or disorder in family members of the individual. (iv) any request for, or receipt of, genetic services, or participation in clinical research that includes genetic services, by an individual or any family member of the individual. However, an individual’s age or sex is not considered “genetic information.”  But we already know that you can’t discriminate on the basis of age or sex. Some of us may ask, who goes around asking employees for their “genetic information” any way?  SB 559’s declarations noted that this form of discrimination was evident in the 1970s, which saw the advent of programs to screen and identify carriers of sickle cell anemia, a disease that afflicts African Americans.  This … Continue reading →