New Law Will Allay Fears of Genetic Discrimination

On May 21st, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) became law. The new law was enacted to protect individuals on the basis of their genetic information in both employment and health care.

What is genetic information? GINA explains that genetic information is information about a persons’ genetic composition, or a persons’ family history of inherited traits and disorders.

Perhaps the most relevant to HR professionals, the new law will make it illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee due to the employee’s genetic information or family member’s genetic information. GINA will further make it illegal for an insured or self-insured health care plan to deny eligibility to enroll for health care coverage or change plan premium or contribution rates because of an individual’s or family member’s genetic information.

The new genetic nondiscrimination law will prohibit an employer form requesting or otherwise acquiring a person’s genetic information, except when such information is needed for FMLA compliance, used for an employer-sponsored genetic service or wellness program, or when such information is commercially available. Some inadvertent acquisitions or genetic information may also be permitted under GINA.

In addition to the new federal statute, most states have their own restrictions on genetic information (only PA, ND, & MS have no genetic information statutes). HR professionals should know that GINA will allow state laws that provide additional protections to individuals, above and beyond the federal statute, to supersede the new federal law.

The employment provisions for GINA do not become effective until November 2009, or 18 months after President Bush signed the bill into law. The provisions pertaining to group health plans become effective May 2009 – one year after the date of enactment.

As legislation develops, keep in mind that you can get involved in the issues that may impact your workplace by expressing your views through SHRMs HRVoice program. SHRM members can plan an instrumental part in influencing HR related-information at the federal and state levels by using HRVoice. Visit www.shrm.org/government/hrvoice .

Today's Best and Worst Cities for Salary Growth

Let's face it, most of us wouldn't complain if we were offered a raise. Used to be, you could expect at least a cost of living raise once a year. But these days, that's not necessarily a given.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the average cost of living in the United States grew by 4.1 percent in all of 2007. But average wage growth was 3.4 percent, according to CBsalary.com. This year, the BLS reports the cost of living has already grown 5.5 percent. These numbers, unfortunately, are troubling to the average worker.

So where do you have a better chance of earning a raise that at least matches the cost of living increase? And where is salary growth seriously lagging? We looked at the top 200 metropolitan statistical areas in the United States and identified the 20 cities with the fastest wage growth and the 20 cities with the slowest.

The results varied even within individual states. While wage growth in College Station and Waco, Texas grew at a healthy clip in 2007, growth in other Texas cities like Amarillo, Tyler and Victoria, was sluggish. California had three cities among the 20 with the speediest growth. The Northwest (Idaho and Wyoming) and Southeast (Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas) regions had solid growth as well.

Fastest Wage Growth
College Station-Bryan, Texas2007 salary growth: 9.5 percent
Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss.2007 salary growth: 7.2 percent
New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La.2007 salary growth: 6.8 percent
Redding, Calif.2007 salary growth: 5.9 percent
Merced, Calif.2007 salary growth: 5.7 percent
Boise City-Nampa, Idaho2007 salary growth: 5.5 percent
Dover, Del.2007 salary growth: 5.4 percent
Pocatello, Idaho2007 salary growth: 5.3 percent
Baltimore-Towson, Md.2007 salary growth: 5.3 percent
Wilmington, Del.-Md.-N.J. 2007 salary growth: 5.2 percent
Jackson, Tenn.2007 salary growth: 5.2 percent
Casper, Wyo. 2007 salary growth: 5.1 percent
Atlantic City, N.J.2007 salary growth: 5.1 percent
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, Calif.2007 salary growth: 5.1 percent
Lakeland, Fla. 2007 salary growth: 5.1 percent
Waco, Texas 2007 salary growth: 5.0 percent
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, La. 2007 salary growth: 4.9 percent
Athens-Clarke County, Ga. 2007 salary growth: 4.9 percent
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill. 2007 salary growth: 4.8 percent
Chico, Calif. 2007 salary growth: 4.8 percent
Slowest Wage Growth
Florence-Muscle Shoals, Ala. 2007 salary growth: 0.1 percent
Ocala, Fla. 2007 salary growth: 0.9 percent
Alexandria, La.2007 salary growth: 0.9 percent
Kalamazoo-Portage, Mich. 2007 salary growth: 0.9 percent
Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, Mich.2007 salary growth: 1 percent
Springfield, Ill.2007 salary growth: 1.1 percent
Visalia-Porterville, Calif. 2007 salary growth: 1.1 percent
Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Mass. 2007 salary growth: 1.2 percent
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa 2007 salary growth: 1.2 percent
Decatur, Ala. 2007 salary growth: 1.4 percent
Dubuque, Iowa 2007 salary growth: 1.4 percent
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 2007 salary growth: 1.4 percent
Amarillo, Texas 2007 salary growth: 1.5 percent
Weirton-Steubenville, W.Va.-Ohio 2007 salary growth: 1.6 percent
Greenville, N.C. 2007 salary growth: 1.7 percent
Gainesville, Fla. 2007 salary growth: 1.7 percent
Victoria, Texas 2007 salary growth: 1.8 percent
Sheboygan, Wis. 2007 salary growth: 1.8 percent
Tyler, Texas 2007 salary growth: 1.8 percent