Legal developments–legal and regulatory news as the Bush administration winds down
✍ Scribed by Elizabeth D. MacGillivray; H. Juanita M. Beecher; Deirdre Golden
- Publisher
- Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
- Year
- 2008
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 106 KB
- Volume
- 28
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1932-2054
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Although the Bush administration is winding down, there is activity in both Congress and the regulatory agencies. Congress passed and President Bush signed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) in May. GINA prohibits employers from making employment decisions based on genetic information or from requiring employees to take genetic tests. Substantial changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) have passed the House and are currently moving in the Senate in the ADA Restoration Act. The movement is the result of a coalition between employer groups and disability rights advocates. The Bush administration had announced a regulatory hiatus for the rest of the term, but some regulatory activity will of necessity continue.
Congress had refused to approve recent Bush administration appointees, but a compromise was reached that allowed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Commissioner Constance Barker to be approved and sworn in. Some of the recent federal legislative and regulatory developments are listed below, along with a roundup of more general employment-related issues.
Legislative Developments
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
President Bush signed into law the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, intended to prohibit discrimination based on a genetic predisposition to disease. Proponents of the measure say it is a civil rights issue and privacy issue, making this antidiscrimination legislation a necessity.