Practice Intelligence
current as of Jun 26, 2026
Olender Feldman LLP

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EEOC v. Dana Sealing Manufacturing — GINA Complaint (Collecting Family Medical History at Pre-Employment Physical)

us-fed Jun 25, 2026 Primary source

What just shifted

What this adds: The EEOC has filed suit against an automotive parts manufacturer for asking job applicants, during pre-employment physicals, whether their parents, siblings, and grandparents had experienced specific diseases — a violation of GINA's prohibition on acquiring family medical history in employment, even when the inquiry is conducted through a third-party medical provider and framed as routine occupational health screening.

What this puts in question: Whether your pre-employment physical examination form — or the form used by your occupational health vendor — asks applicants about their own medical history only, or also asks about relatives' medical conditions, regardless of how the question is framed.

What clients should weigh

·Pull the intake paperwork your occupational health provider uses for pre-employment physicals: does it ask applicants whether family members have had cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or any other condition? If yes, that form is the violation — your company is acquiring genetic information under GINA regardless of whether you ever see or use the results.
·GINA's family-medical-history prohibition extends to third-party vendors performing medical evaluations at your direction. If your occupational health clinic's standard form asks about family history, you are responsible for their data collection. When did you last audit the intake forms your vendors use?
·The violation period in the Dana Sealing complaint runs from 2022 to 2024. GINA charges have a 180-day filing window for private employers, but the EEOC can investigate patterns and file a Commissioner's charge on its own initiative. The fact that the practice has stopped does not necessarily eliminate exposure for applicants affected during the violation period.
·This addresses GINA Title II (genetic information in employment), specifically the family medical history acquisition prohibition. It does not reach ADA pre-offer medical inquiries, post-offer medical examinations under 42 U.S.C. § 12112(d)(3), or state genetic privacy statutes that may run on different standards.

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