It's pretty normal for companies to do background checks of applicants for employee positions. This is because companies want to ensure that their applicants are clean in terms of criminal records. Quite surprisingly, the University of Akron brings this process to a whole new level.
The university said that it now holds the right to gather DNA information from any potential employee, including those aspiring for staff, contractual, or faculty position. This extreme move is a first of its kind in the world, and definitely potentially intrusive to the applicants' privacy.
According to the university, this extra step will be used by the university to check against federal criminal records. This took the entire university community by surprise, with at least one professor resigning in protest and even contemplating to make a lawsuit. The American Association of University Professors also said that this violate's employee rights.
And it may really be so, with the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) taking effect starting November 21. The law was designed to target employers that use genetic information to make decisions about hiring, firing, and promotions. It is quite obvious that the University of Akron may really be violating the above mentioned law.
In its defense, a spokeswoman from the university said that no applicant is forced to make a submission of their DNA samples and that they may always search for another job. Furthermore, the spokesperson said that current employees in the university are not required to give samples unless they move on to another position in the university.
There are still not much information about how long the DNA information is stored and who has access to it. I just hope somebody files a temporary restraining order soon. Personally, I find it an obvious breach of privacy rights. The answer of the university that everyone is allowed to look for another job is not a reassuring way of addressing the issue at hand. The sad thing about it is that with the difficulty of looking a spot in today's job market, applicants may just be forced to submit their DNA information.
