Online financial services provider Enova has become one of the most recent targets of a class action lawsuit accusing the company of violating an Illinois genetic information privacy law by requiring job applicants to divulge personal and family medical history.
Enova is based in downtown Chicago.
The 1998 Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA) "provides strong legal protections to ensure that Illinois residents can take advantage of the knowledge that can be gained from obtaining personal genetic information, without fear that this same information could be used by employers to discriminate against them," states the lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court.
The legislation bars employers from "learning or using genetic information in making employment decisions," the suit says. "GIPA bars employers from asking about employees or potential employees’ genetic information, prevents employers from obtaining this information from third parties, and forbids employers from using such information to affect the terms and conditions of employment."
Lead plaintiff Kasha Malone applied for a job as a customer service representative at Enova in 2019, the suit says.
"During the application and hiring process, Defendant directly solicited, requested, or required Ms. Malone to disclose her genetic information as a condition of employment in the form of diseases or conditions with a genetic predisposition that had manifested in her family members, including heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and cancer," the lawsuit states.
The suit seeks to include as plaintiffs all Illinois employees who applied for work at Enova or were hired in the last five years and were asked to disclose information on their family medical history.
The suit seeks $15,000 for each intention violation of GIPA and $2,500 for each negligent violation, plus attorney fees and court costs.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Edward A. Wallace, Mark R. Miller and Molly C. Wells, of Wallace Miller law firm, of Chicago..