On May 1, 2015 The Boston Globe published an article titled The Wellness Bill in Congress Raises Privacy Concerns.
The article addresses the invasion of privacy that will be allowed if the bill passes. This allows employers to not only screen potential employees, but also current employees about their own family medical history. Not only does this expose people to admit to medical issues they would rather not disclose, but it also makes it easier for employers to turn down those who have a higher chance of becoming ill at some point in their career. These people may need these jobs more than anyone else for that exact reason. Discrimination at this level is just as bad as if it were about race or religion. There are also many diseases or disorders that are very common and easy to manage with proper treatment, therefore they should not be taken into account when selecting a potential employee, or choosing who should be let go in an office. That can be easily said, but if the employer in question has application A a healthy individual with good qualifications and no family history of disease, or application B a individual at genetic risk for diabetes or heart disease, we can infer that he will more than likely choose applicant A. This type of information is personal and unless someone is willing to disclose it for their own health assessment it should remain that way.
