-Caveat Lector- >From WEWS via Yahoo!, http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/wews/20010710/lo/852857_1.html Tuesday July 10 Secret Genetic Testing Done On Workers? CLEVELAND, July 9, 2001 -- What does your boss really know about you? It may be more much more than you think. In Monday's Special Assignment, NewsChannel5's Ron Regan reports that your boss may secretly be gathering medical information that's being used to deny you a promotion -- or even your job. A huge corporation secretly collects blood from its workers, quietly looking for genetic flaws. Although it sounds like the latest Michael Crichton book, it's not. "It's real -- it's not science fiction. They are doing it," genetic-testing target Gary Avary said. For 27 years, Avary has worked for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. But what happened to him in his small Midwestern town is sending shock waves all the way to Washington. It began when he had surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome. Soon, Burlington Northern sent him and 34 others who had the surgery a letter asking for a mysterious follow-up exam. "They were looking much deeper than carpal tunnel," Avary said. "This was just their way into our blood." The lab took a lot of blood -- seven vials of it. Avary's wife, Janice, said that she was suspicious before he even went for the exam. "Seven vials of blood for routine laboratory work?" she said. Janice investigated and found out that the railroad was doing genetic tests on the workers -- and no one knew. "They never asked for any permission," Gary said. The Avarys, along with a growing number of privacy and consumer advocates, fear that companies could use genetic test results to cancel insurance benefits or determine who gets a promotion. "Because if they have that information that I potentially will get cancer or Reyes disease or ASL, they're going to use it against me," Gary said. Burlington Northern insisted that the test was appropriate because their workers' contracts state that the company can "determine when medical examinations are necessary." The company claims that it was looking for a genetic predisposition to carpal tunnel syndrome. But there is no carpal tunnel gene, WEWS reports. "When it comes to the most private of medical information, your genetic makeup and what diseases you may be predisposed to, no one has a right to that information except your doctor," U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (news - bio - voting record) said. Kucinich said that Americans have very little protection for medical privacy, and he's co-sponsoring a bill to change that. Medical ethicist Dr. George Agich of the Cleveland Clinic said that in some instances, such testing can be appropriate. "Employers certainly have some reason to engage in medical examinations, to require employees to undergo medical examinations for safety reasons for themselves and others, but they're not allowed to engage in fishing expeditions," he said. No one knows how many more companies might be doing covert testing. For the Avarys, once was enough. "It's happening right now," Gary said. Burlington Northern agreed to stop genetic testing after being sued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (Read more about lawsuit here) Right now, 32 states have laws on the books protecting employees from genetic testing -- Ohio does not. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
