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April 2012              Issue 017
 

 
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

 

California law prohibits employers from discriminating against employees or applicants on the basis of genetic characteristics under Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) defines genetic information as "information about an individual's genetic tests and genetic tests of an individual's family members, as well as information about any disease, disorder or condition of an individual's family members."

Acquiring Genetic Information

Although it is unlawful for an employer to get genetic information on an employee, there are certain instances when it may be necessary. Regulations allow employers to obtain information under the following circumstances:

(1)   Unintentional acquisitions of genetic information do not violate GINA. 

(2)   Genetic information (such as family medical history) may be obtained as part of health or genetic services, including wellness programs, offered by the employer on a voluntary basis, if certain specific requirements are met.

(3)   Family medical history may be acquired as part of the certification process for FMLA leave.

(4)   Genetic information may be acquired through commercially and publicly available documents like newspapers, as long as it is not done intentionally.

(5)   Genetic information may be acquired through a genetic monitoring program that monitors the biological effects of toxic substances in the workplace where the monitoring is required by law or, under carefully defined conditions, where the program is voluntary.

(6)   Acquisition of genetic information of employees by employers who engage in DNA testing for law enforcement purposes as a forensic lab or for purposes of human remains identification is permitted, but the genetic information may only be used for analysis of DNA markers for quality control to detect sample contamination.

 Recordkeeping

The (EEOC) issued its final recordkeeping rule for GINA effective April 3, 2012. The following steps will be required by employers:

  • Any personnel record made or kept by an employer must be preserved for one year from the date it was made or one year from the personnel action taken, which ever is later.
  • If an employee is involuntarily terminated the record must be kept for one year from the termination date.
  • If a discrimination charge has been filed, or an action brought by the EEOC or the U.S. Attorney General, under GINA, the records must be kept until the final disposition has taken place.

 Although it is not required for employers to create records or require any type of reporting, it is essential that if a record is created it is maintained properly. Please note that according to various federal and state laws, employee personnel files must be kept for a minimum of two years following termination or longer if any payroll or benefit information has been kept in the file.

 

For more information about any of the topics discussed above, please feel free to contact Sarina Flores or Nicollette Donato in Flores Financial Services' Human Resources Department at (619) 334-7010.

 


 

FFS Races at the 2012 5k for Autism

 

2012 5k for Autism

FFS raced for the 3rd year at the 2012 5k for Autism held in Balboa Park on March 24th. We were able to raise over $1200 for the NFAR foundation Once considered rare, autism now affects as many as one in 110 children in the United States, with a new child being diagnosed every 20 minutes.The San Diego Race for Autism is the ONLY autism race that donates 100% of proceeds back to the San Diego community. This 2012 year the race was able to raise over $155,000 for our local community!

 A BIG THANK YOU to all who supported our team and efforts to raise awareness and donations for such a great cause. Our team was bigger than ever this year with about 20 racers on the FFS Team including our friends and family. It was a bright and early morning and some of our fellow FFS Team members raced their hearts out!

Congratulations to some of our very own staff who ran the 5k with some great times!
Andrew Murphy- 23 mins
Allison Milow- 31 mins

And to our expectant mommies-to-be who walked the race as fast as they could!
Mavis Thompson- 50 mins
Michelle Gonzales- 46 mins

Special thanks to the family and friends on our team who also ran and walked the 5k with us and brought in some amazing times of their own! It was a good morning and we were so proud to be a part of such an amazing cause, we are looking forward to next year!


 

Breaking News- Brinker Decision Released

Miss the breaking news article sent out on 4/13/12? 
Click hereto read about the long awaited California Supreme Court opinion.
 
FFS Corner- What's Going on at Flores Financial?
 
2012 bowlingBusiness has been very busy at the FFS offices and so we felt it was time to take a little breather and have a fun afternoon together as a team. We hosted our 4th annual FFS Bowling Tournament on the 31st and the competition was fierce! We hosted our event with the help of one of our great clients at Eastlake Tavern+Bowl. The day was a lot of fun as our teams brought out their competitive spirit to fight for our many titles at stake. Top Bowling Team was awarded to the Bowl-he-moths (Bonnie Scott and Andrew Murphy) for bringing in the highest Team Average. FFS Bowling Champion went out to Carla Gardner as she striked her way to top bowler. Best Team Name went out Pinsdown Pinups (Allison Milow and Nicole Bogan-Falos), Best Team Shirt to Here for Beer (Kendall Tilton and Alex Lopez), Best Bowling Style went Nadia Rezai, Most Team Spirit to Famous For Spares (Tracy Erni, Esmeralda Zumaya and Priscilla Clemons)  and Best FFS Cheerleader to Jessica Cagle.  Then on the other spectrum of our awards these went out to our teams who need a little more practice for next year. FFS Worst Bowler went to Liz Barba while most Gutter Balls went to Priscilla Clemons. Finally, although they had a lot of fun, their bowling was in need of some practice as our 2012 Worst Bowling Team was awarded to Crime & Pinishment (Alicia Castillo and Liz Barba). It was a really great afternoon and a special thanks to all of our FFS Team who made it out to enjoy the day, we definitely appreciate your hard work all year long and you all more than deserved some fun!
 
We ended March with some much needed team fun but as we head into April the team is definitely back to hard work. FFS is working day and night to prepare for our growing client base and ensure that our service level remains the very best for each one of our clients. We meet with our clients as often as possible and work hard to be a valuable part of their business success. If you have any suggestions as to how your Flores team could improve upon it's services please contact us today! We welcome the opportunity to hear feedback from our customers.

This month we also wish to acknowledge our March 2012 FFS All-Star, Leilani Thrasher. Leilani re-joined the FFS team in January of 2011 and has been a great asset to group by providing not only excellent customer service but by bringing her positive work ethic to our team. She is dedicated to her clients and one of our most dependable. Thanks and congratulations Leilani, we truly appreciate all of your hard work! 
 

 
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