Personnel Concepts Warns That GINA Could Restrict or Ban Social Media Research
Though GINA is a federal law designed to protect individuals' genetic and medical histories from disclosure and discrimination, the implementing regulations may result in a ban on employers using the social media to spy on their employees.
Online, February 19, 2010 (Newswire.com) - ONTARIO, Calif.-Personnel Concepts, pioneer and still leader in the labor law poster compliance industry, has researched and produced a White Paper on the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) with some startling results, to wit:
Employer use of social media sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to spy on their new hires and employees may soon be banned because of GINA.
At the very least, soon-to-be-released regulations for GINA will bar employers and health insurers from using genetic and family medical history information found on the social media sites in any decision-making. A blanket ban may soon fall, or even be included in the final regulations.
GINA and the issue of social media data mining are covered at length in Personnel Concepts' White Paper, "Will GINA Put the Kibosh on Employer Use of Social Media Spying?"
The paper concludes: "Though as the states found earlier, genetic nondiscrimination laws may turn up few violators, GINA is still a force to be reckoned with, especially if Title II regulations end up banning the use of social media for any employment or health decision purpose."
Personnel Concepts virtually created the labor law and health and safety compliance poster industry in 1989 with its All-On-One approach. It also led the industry in developing a skilled, knowledgeable and experienced research team that keeps constant vigil on government regulatory changes and updates clients on changing labor law and OSHA requirements. Its "We Pay the Fine" guarantee was an industry first and is still a mainstay of its strong customer service tradition.
Personnel Concepts' customers have relied on the company's products and services for the past two decades to protect them from government fines, employee lawsuits and other costly consequences associated with non-compliance. Businesses throughout the nation have entrusted their compliance to Personnel Concepts, and the company in turn embraces that responsibility by keeping up to date on changing regulations and tailoring a wide variety of simplified solutions. The company currently advises and serves more than 1.2 million businesses throughout the United States from its headquarters in Ontario, Calif., with the motto "Your Trusted Compliance Partner."