A proposed class action alleges Ford Motor Company asks applicants and employees to provide their family medical histories and then uses this information to make employment decisions in violation of Illinois’ genetic privacy law.
The 16-page case more specifically claims Ford has run afoul of the Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA), a state law designed to protect residents from being discriminated against based on their genetic information, including their family medical history. The filing explains that the GIPA prohibits employers from directly or indirectly requesting or using genetic information as a condition of employment or as part of their hiring processes.
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The three plaintiffs, who worked or applied for positions at Ford’s Chicago assembly plant, claim that during the hiring process, the company’s in-house medical provider asked them to disclose their family medical histories as part of a required pre-employment physical.
The lawsuit alleges Ford uses this information to evaluate “the risk that the individual may have inherited genetic conditions from family members, and then improperly uses that information when making its hiring decisions and staffing assignments.”
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