Genetic in Hiring

Abstract

Genetics in hiring discusses about the genetic testing/mapping and its effects on the employment

opportunities. This has been a serious challenge for a while and has dramatically increased over

the time. This paper discusses about the flaws of protection offered by the existing laws, the

ethical issues involved in the genetic testing/ mapping and how this affects the individual and

also his family members. It also discusses about the impact of genetic mapping in the workplace

and its relation with safety. This paper has information from various articles and research papers

published in diverse journal and also talks about the series of events of genetic testing from

2002 till the present, review the history of genetic testing/mapping and its use in employment

decisions, law suits related to discrimination by use of genetic information and other related

Genetics in Hiring

Discrimination is the distinguished treatment of an individual based their race, gender, national

origin, religion, age, disability, skin color, or other characteristics and in this case genetic

information. Genetic discrimination can be defined as the discrimination against an individual or

a member of the individual’s family only based physical and psychological components. Genetic

discrimination takes place when people are treated differently by their employer since they are to

have a mutation in the genes that result in increased risk of a disorder. Genetics discrimination is

done to diagnose genetic disorders or to identify a risk associated for developing the disease.

By testing for these changes in mutations, it is possible to identify a predisposition for hereditary

disease. In employment, the ability to foresee possible illnesses is a temptation for employers to

make hiring decisions based on this information.

This idea of genetic discrimination dates back to the eugenics movement which reached its

popularity in the early twentieth century. Employees will never