Law / United States / 
Massachusetts
Employer limits on genetic information and genetic tests
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B, § 4, paragraph 19
In force.
A sensitive categories rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Prohibition, Consent
- Audit expectation
- none
As of .
What it requires
- If you are an employer with six or more persons in your employ (this includes the commonwealth and its political subdivisions), an employment agency, a labor organization or a licensing agency, do not refuse to hire, employ, represent, grant membership to or license a person on the basis of that person's genetic information.
- Do not collect, solicit or require disclosure of genetic information from any person as a condition of employment, membership or obtaining a license, and do not solicit, require or administer a genetic test as such a condition.
- Do not offer a person an inducement to undergo a genetic test or disclose genetic information, and do not question a person about their genetic information, their family members' genetic information or previous genetic testing.
- Do not use the results of a genetic test or other genetic information to affect the terms, conditions, compensation or privileges of a person's employment, representation, membership or licensing, or to terminate or refuse to renew it, and do not otherwise seek, receive or maintain genetic information for non-medical purposes.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureNo
Private right of actionYes
Penalty structure
Section 5: the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination may assess a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 on a respondent with no prior adjudged discriminatory practice, not more than $25,000 with one other adjudged within five years, and not more than $50,000 with two or more adjudged within seven years; the $50,000 top tier is recorded as the cap.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- USD
- Fixed cap
- 50,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, which receives the verified complaint, may award damages and assess the section 5 civil penalty; the Attorney General may file the complaint; and an aggrieved person may sue for damages or injunctive relief under section 9 after ninety days from filing a complaint.
What this law does
Section 4, paragraph 19 of chapter 151B makes it unlawful discrimination for an employer, employment agency, labor organization or licensing agency to take any of eight listed actions concerning a person's genetic information, among them collecting, soliciting or requiring disclosure of genetic information, requiring or administering a genetic test, and inquiring about a person's family members' genetic information.
Section 1 of chapter 151B excludes from the term employer any employer with fewer than six persons in his employ, and includes the commonwealth and all political subdivisions, boards, departments and commissions thereof.
Section 5 of chapter 151B lets the commission assess a civil penalty of up to $10,000 on a respondent found to have engaged in an unlawful practice, up to $25,000 where one prior discriminatory practice was adjudged in the previous five years, and up to $50,000 where two or more were adjudged in the previous seven years.
Section 9 of chapter 151B lets a person aggrieved by a practice made unlawful under the chapter bring a civil action for damages or injunctive relief, or both, in superior or probate court after ninety days from filing a complaint with the commission. Section 9 of chapter 151B lets a court that finds for the petitioner award actual and punitive damages. Section 23A of the 2000 act relative to insurance and genetic testing and privacy protection added paragraph 19 to section 4 of chapter 151B.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app makes employment decisions.