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Genetic Screening in the Workplace: Legislative and Ethical Implications

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Abstract

This paper discusses legal and ethical issues related to genetic screening. It is argued that persons identified with actual or perceived deleterious genetic markers are protected by the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Civil Rights Act of 1991, if members of a protected group, regardless of whether or not they are currently ill. However, legislation may not protect all employees in all scenarios, in which case, ethical principles should guide decision-making. In doing so a model of preventive ethics is proposed to better understand the multiple levels on which this issue resides.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State University of New York at Binghamton, School of Management, P.O. Box 6015, Binghamton, NY, 13903-6015, U.S.A.

    William D. Murry

  2. Department of Management, Kelly School of Business, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 47405-1701, U.S.A

    James C. Wimbush & Dan R. Dalton

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  1. William D. Murry
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  2. James C. Wimbush
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  3. Dan R. Dalton
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Murry, W.D., Wimbush, J.C. & Dalton, D.R. Genetic Screening in the Workplace: Legislative and Ethical Implications. Journal of Business Ethics 29, 365–378 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010735025079

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