The Case concerned 498 applicants who were required to disclose family medical history during the hiring process (past and present medical conditions of family members, such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease) and other qualified applicants who assumed they were excluded for their disabilities. 

According to the EEOC, the recruitment process violated the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act ("GINA"), which prohibits employers, except in minimal circumstances, from requesting genetic information, including on applicants, employees, and their family members, and the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), which precludes denial of employment because of a disability. 

The agreement reached between the parties provides for monetary compensation and a commitment by the Company to revise its policies to be compliant with ADA and GINA and train its personnel involved in the selection process. 

This case confirms the extreme importance that employers must pay even at the pre-employment stage when requesting information from the employee, in many respects, not only in terms of health - as in the case at hand - but also in terms of salary (we reported that in the United States and Canada, employers cannot ask for salary data relating to previous employment).

Employers should, therefore, also review their internal policies concerning the recruiting and selection phase.