Genetic Anti-discrimination Law Takes Effect

On November 21, 2009, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (Pub.L. 110-233) took effect. From the LA Times:

The most sweeping federal anti-discrimination law in nearly 20 years takes effect today, prohibiting employers from hiring, firing or determining promotions based on genetic makeup. Additionally, health insurers will not be allowed to consider a person's genetics -- such as predisposition for Parkinson's disease -- to set insurance rates or deny coverage. Not since the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 has the federal government implemented such far-reaching workplace protections.

The bill was signed into law by President George W. Bush on May 21, 2008.

Judge Orders George W. Bush to Testify

According to the Dallas Morning News, "Judge Martin Hoffman has ordered that former President George W. Bush be deposed in a long-running lawsuit against Southern Methodist University over land acquisition related to the Bush Presidential Library." The testimony will concern "whether SMU officials told him about plans" relating to the land over which his library is to be built "before the university bought the land."

President Bush's lawyers contend that the effort to obtain his testimony is a "publicity stunt," as "it is rare for a sitting or former president to be compelled to answer questions under oath."