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Employers Can Deny Accommodations for Genetic Risk, Law Lags

6/29/2026

Summary

Story summary

U.S. law lets employers deny accommodations for employees whose only health risk appears in a genetic test.
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 bars firing based on genetic test results, while the Americans with Disabilities Act protects only current disabilities and does not require accommodations for predicted conditions.
Harvard Law School professor I. Glenn Cohen warns that expanding polygenic risk scores will create policy challenges because legal protections lag.

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Story summary

U.S. law lets employers deny accommodations for employees whose only health risk appears in a genetic test.
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 bars firing based on genetic test results, while the Americans with Disabilities Act protects only current disabilities and does not require accommodations for predicted conditions.
Harvard Law School professor I. Glenn Cohen warns that expanding polygenic risk scores will create policy challenges because legal protections lag.