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Comment and Humans

Making US workers pass genetic test data to employers is wrong

A proposed law effectively allowing US employers to require workers to take DNA tests and hand over the results is misguided

By Martina Cornel

17 March 2017

Man wears safety helmet with a sticker of US flag on the back

Test results should stay private

Huntstock/Getty

Letting companies require workers to have genetic tests and disclose the results sounds practically dystopian. But that’s the effect of a .

Employees can refuse to comply, but risk being penalised by having to fork out thousands of dollars in extra health insurance payments – the threat of which might be enough to coerce them into going along with it.

This inflammatory proposal has been backed by Republican members of the House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce.

With US employers funding a large chunk of employees’…

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