Published
March 10, 2025
If you work or worked for Union Pacific Railroad in Illinois and were asked about your family medical history, your employer may have violated the Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA).
What is the Union Pacific Railroad Employees Investigation About?
If you have been asked about your family's health history at work, your employer may be in violation of Illinois law. The Illinois Genetic Information Protection Act (GIPA) does not allow an employer to ask about your family's health history, since it violates your privacy rights.
Status
Active Investigation
No lawsuit filed or class certified yet — attorneys are reviewing claims
Law at Issue
Illinois GIPA
Genetic Information Privacy Act — bars employers from asking about family medical history
Who May Qualify
Illinois workers
Illinois Union Pacific employees asked about family health history in the last ~5 years
Proof Required
Yes
What are GIPA and GINA Laws? What is the Difference?
• GIPA
GIPA, or the Genetic Information Protection Act, is an Illinois law that seeks to protect genetic information of Illinoisians. The protection is provided for individuals' privacy and non-discrimination based on their "genetic" information, as defined by HIPAA. Generally, the law does not allow employers to make decisions based on certain HIPAA defined "genetic" factors such as RNA, DNA, proteins, chromosomes, metabolites, mutations, or chromosomal changes. It also prohibits the release of some of this private information to anyone other than the person being genetically tested. This is similar to how personally identifiable information is protected.
• GINA
What is the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act - Also known as GINA - the law aims to protect the rights of all Americans from employers who might otherwise fire, not hire, or otherwise treaty unfairly on the basis of genetic information or family medical history. According to the national "GINA" law, "genetic" information can be data about a gene test, historical medical information in your family, gene tests of a family member, genetic information about fetus, embryo or reproductive information of an individual.
How Do I Qualify for Compensation?
If you live in Illinois, work or used to work for Union Pacific Railroad and were asked within the last five years about your family's health history by a manager or someone else during the hiring process or your employment, please fill out the form below to see whether you may qualify.Free settlement alerts
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