Congress’s new genetic discrimination law looks like it has a narrow focus — but could any companies really find themselves in a lawsuit over it?

Answer: Maybe.

The law says employers can’t make decisions based on employees’ or job candidates’ genetic information — and that happens rarely, if at all.

But it does give employees another chance to find an appearance of discrimination. Chances are, companies inadvertently receive genetic information during pre-employment medical testing or certification for FMLA requests.

That’s yet another reason for managers to make sure all decisions are well-documented. Also, companies need to be sure all genetic information they receive is kept private — GINA subjects genetic information to the same privacy requirements as medical information under HIPAA.

Tags: genetic information, GINA, HIPAA