Are we in danger of genetic discrimination?

If you want a job, take an analysis
Soon employers will start recruiting staff with the help of genetic testsVakhrusheva Darya, "Trud", 31.05.2010

There is no law in Russia prohibiting genetic testing of personnel. Therefore, any employee can be sent to a genetic laboratory for blood donation. The simplest tests to identify hidden or future diseases in an employee will cost from 400 rubles, drawing up a detailed genetic passport – from 5 to 30 thousand.

Over the past three years, the cost of tests has decreased tenfold, in 2007, a detailed general passport cost about 40 thousand dollars. The fall in prices became possible after the introduction of new devices for analysis. In the USA, tests are conducted by almost all major universities in the country. In Russia, they are being made so far only in several laboratories of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Similar genetic tests are already being carried out in the United States: this is how high-ranking military personnel are checked in the Pentagon, this is how they select personnel in the FBI. Large companies in the United States are testing their employees for predisposition to cancer and other diseases. Medical insurance is expensive, so it is unprofitable for companies to have an employee on staff whose treatment will cost them too much.

The latest case: 39-year-old Pamela Fink is now suing her former employer, who fired her on the basis of genetic tests. She was demoted, and then completely pointed out the door after genetic studies showed a predisposition to breast cancer. Pamela Fink is a carrier of the BRCA2 gene, and the chance that she would get cancer was 80%. The trial of Mrs. Fink's claim may become the first case in the United States for violation of the law prohibiting genetic discrimination, which came into force in November 2009.

In Russia, genetic tests are already being conducted, but mainly based on the results of the tests, paternity or a tendency to genetic and multifactorial diseases, such as hemophilia, oncological diseases, diabetes mellitus, ischemic disease, are determined.

Testing is carried out in genetic laboratories. A sample of blood, saliva, bones or skin, teeth or nails is taken for analysis. It is standard to take either 3-5 ml of blood from a vein, or saliva on a cotton swab (as is customary in Europe) – this is enough to find out which genes and in which combinations occur in humans.

There are practically no tests for personality traits and genetic predispositions that affect career choice, but they will be in the near future. The first steps in this direction have been taken. So, today you can take an analysis for predisposition to various sports.

In deep analysis, saliva or blood is examined for the content of 32 polymorphisms – this is the coexistence of two or more different hereditary forms of genes that have been in dynamic equilibrium for several or even many generations.

When the genome was first decoded, it took 13 years and 3 billion dollars. Today, the cost of a complete decoding of the human genome is about $ 1,000. Research on individual genes is much cheaper and takes 1-2 weeks.

The cost of analysis for one polymorphism is inexpensive – from 400 rubles, but they are not examined one by one. In addition, the cost of extracting DNA from biological material itself costs over 2000 rubles. So the price of such a study will range from 6000 to 15,000 rubles.

The study of genes for polymorphisms that lead to the appearance of excess body weight already costs about 7000 rubles. Every year, research on addiction will become cheaper.

They can force everyoneThere is no law banning genetic discrimination in Russia yet.

In the US, it came into force last fall, and the first lawsuits have already appeared. Similar prohibiting laws are in force in 15 European countries. They were accepted because of the danger of the employer invading the employee's privacy.

Article 214 of the Labor Code states that an employee is obliged to "undergo mandatory preliminary (upon admission to work) and periodic (during employment) medical examinations." That is, if the examination includes a genetic test, the employee will be forced to pass it as well.

In the near future, they may be actively used, and then hiring on the basis of a doctor's opinion may become a frightening new reality.

"A tissue sample is taken for analysis – for example, blood. DNA is extracted from it. This is not done manually, but by machines. In principle, this is a fairly fast process. To identify each specific mutation, a separate test (and separate reagents) is needed," explains the principle of conducting genetic tests, the head of the laboratory of the structure and function of human genes at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Evgeny Sverdlov.

Determination of frequent mutations and polymorphisms occurs in stages: first in a test tube, then by electrophoresis in a special gel. Based on these data, geneticists conclude what is the percentage of probability that the disease or tendency will manifest itself in life and work.

Genes also lieA genetic test reveals predispositions – this is not a fatal inevitability, all geneticists emphasize.

Director of the Medical and Genetic Research Center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Professor Evgeny Ginter is convinced that genetic testing is completely useless when applying for a job, and explains why: "Tests for frequent diseases are under development. And when they become massive, it will immediately turn out that each of us is predisposed to something."

Sick means firedAnother story was widely publicized among geneticists – the American Kim.

During a seminar for people suffering from chronic diseases, Kim mentioned that she was the main guardian of her mother, who died of Huntington's disease (a hereditary disease of the nervous system in which involuntary movements occur in various muscle groups).

With such a family history, the chances that Kim will develop the same disease are 50%. A week after her inheritance became known to the management, despite the outstanding reviews about her work, Kim was fired.

Not all companies will use test results to get rid of expensive sick employees. IBM has publicly promised never to conduct genetic tests of its employees, which is more than 300 thousand people. But there are many more reverse examples.

In 2005, a scandal broke out in the United States: it was revealed that the largest American retail chain Wal-Mart tried to weed out unhealthy or obese people at the interview stage. Thus, as The New York Times found out, Wal-Mart's top management was cutting costs - medical insurance costs were reduced by $ 12 million.

Another example is 36 machinists working on the North Burlington Railroad in the USA, who, without their knowledge (the tests were taken as part of the usual annual diagnosis), conducted a DNA study for the genetic cause of the occurrence of carpal syndrome.

In order not to pay for the treatment of an illness that arose as a result of work, top managers of the Burlington Railway Company tried to prove that the drivers had this hereditary disease. The drivers appealed to the court, and by the court's decision, the company paid them $ 2.2 million in compensation.

The employee is an open bookAn employer can learn much more about his employee from genetic tests than from himself.

A genetic test can also reveal the emotional side of your employee.

Scientists have identified genes that affect many human reactions. And some companies have already started using this information when hiring or distributing tasks. In the future, this may extend to all spheres of life.

"Useful" genesWith the help of gene analysis, it is possible to determine the ability to remember other people's faces.

Scientists have come to the conclusion that a certain neuron is responsible for the reaction to "familiar faces" (the work is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). Such a genetic predisposition is very useful for restaurant workers, salespeople, front-office employees, that is, all those who constantly communicate with people, as well as for law enforcement officials: they need the ability to remember faces like air.

The gene of alcoholismTwo years ago, Dutch scientists discovered and deciphered a gene that affects the tendency to alcoholism.
This is the Grm7 gene; it programs a subtype of a receptor that has a prohibitive effect on the release of molecules that affect brain activity.

"It is difficult to separate the influence of the family from the influence of the gene," comments Evgeny Ginter. – We know a number of genes that are directly related to the metabolism of ethanol, but we do not fully understand how variations of these genes affect the tendency to alcoholism. So far we cannot say whether a person will be an alcoholic or not, even if we find the gene."

The disobedience geneGeneticists at Florida State University have found a statistically significant association between participation in youth groups and a variation of the DAT1 gene responsible for dopamine delivery.
That is, the tendency to hooliganism (and in adulthood – to violation of internal corporate regulations, disruption of schedules and fights at corporate parties) is due not only to the human environment, but also genetically. Psychiatrists have long associated hyperactivity and restlessness in children with the same DAT1 gene. And this means a tendency to change jobs frequently and an inability to concentrate on one thing are not the best traits for a candidate for a position.

The schizophrenia geneA genetic test can already show a tendency to develop schizophrenia.
As it turned out, this disease is caused by a mutation in the gene responsible for short-term memory.

The anxiety geneStress tolerance – a quality that everyone likes to indicate in a resume – can now be determined using a genetic test.
According to German scientists, these features are associated with a common mutation of the COMT gene, which regulates the level of dopamine (responsible for emotional mood) in the brain. Carriers of one of the variants of this gene – Met158 – are more susceptible to diseases associated with an increased level of anxiety, in particular post-traumatic stress and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The Pentagon is already testing its employees for a tendency to PTSD, so as not to send such people to hot spots. Such a test can also be used for people who go not to war, but to the office. A short test – and the employer will know how quickly the employee will "burn out", whether there is a danger that one day in a stressful situation he will leave the company, creating difficulties for others, or even attack the boss with a chair.

Scientific non-fictionGenetic tests will become a daily reality in Russia in 10-15 years.

Moreover, due to the lack of the habit of suing for their workplace and rights, Russians will be more defenseless against companies that have bet on genetic testing.

To change the situation, it is necessary that the problem of ethics in genetic testing should already be discussed in professional communities. It is necessary that a law similar to those already in force in Europe and America be adopted, as well as a direct instruction in the Labor Code prohibiting genetic testing of employees. Genetic tests are an individual matter for everyone, they should be carried out solely at the request of the person himself and not at all in order to identify an employee who is valuable or, conversely, too expensive – for health – for the company. This is help for doctors, not personnel officers.

Question price$ 3,910 – the cost of testing for the presence of genes leading to cancer in the United States

• 400 rubles for one test – the cost of identifying a genetic predisposition to widespread diseases in Russia
• 5000 rubles is the minimum cost of creating the simplest "genetic passport" of a Russian
• $ 50,000 – the cost of a complete decoding of the human genome
• DNA analysis is done in Moscow for 14 working days

Check
What do they want to test employees for in RussiaHR specialists differ in their assessments of how effective genetic testing could be when applying for a job.

"If I give free rein to my fantasies, I clearly see in the structure of any company a genetic laboratory through which those applicants who are ready to cooperate and those employees of the company who need preventive or therapeutic means to neutralize the "costs" of working in the private sector pass," the HR director represents OZON.ru Tatiana Yanina.

Director of Organizational Development of the Svyaznoy company Vera Eliseeva, on the contrary, is horrified by this possibility. She is against any checks, except for tests to identify professional knowledge or tests that are carried out at a person's own request and the results of which he will use for his own purposes. "In addition to the fact that a test conducted against a person's will is stressful, such testing greatly narrows the range of our capabilities. In this case, people who would actually suit us will be eliminated," Eliseeva comments.

"Do we need the same soldiers? People predisposed to stress resistance, always smiling? Such a company of Guinplains?" Alexander Sivogrivov shudders. If you test for something, then for a reaction to power – new powers often greatly spoil a person, he notes.

If HR services were able to select employees based on genetic tests, they would certainly check the candidate for:

• ability to cooperate and partner;
• reaction to gaining power;
• ability to make decisions quickly and independently in a short time;
• stress resistance (a guarantee that an employee will not burn out at work);
• tendency to insubordination or hooliganism;
• mode of the day;
• sense of humor;
• craving for alcohol.

Lawyer's opinion
Pavel Lambrov, lawyer, labor law specialist:– The Constitution enshrines the right to work without discrimination of any kind.

That is, most workers do not need to undergo any medical tests to get a job.

There are certain categories of employees – they are stipulated in the Labor Code and other laws – for whom passing a medical examination is mandatory. These are workers employed in heavy and dangerous industries, in the food industry, catering and trade, doctors, employees of children's institutions and those whose work is related to the supply of water to the population. The examination for them is necessary, firstly, in order to preserve their health, and secondly, in order to protect the health of the population.

But these items do not apply to office workers. Therefore, no one has the right to force an employee who is not included in the list of special professions to undergo a genetic test. But even if he passed it on his own, the results of this test cannot affect his salary or position.

Even if a person has a tendency to a genetic disease that is safe for others – for example, it is not transmitted by airborne droplets - he cannot be suspended from work.

Educational program
Who is responsible for whatGrm7 is a gene responsible for a person's craving for alcohol.

• MAOA – people with a mutation in this gene (it is also called the "warrior gene") will be prone to violence, fights at corporate parties and disruption of negotiations.
• DATi mutations in this gene provoke hooliganism and violation of corporate orders.
• REV-ERB and Per-2 – the activity of these two genes determines whether a person will be a "lark" or an "owl".
• Met158 – this mutation of the COMT gene causes excessive anxiety, carriers of this gene will be prone to post-traumatic stress and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru31.05.2010