Under GINA, may an employer offer an incentive to an employee in return for an employee’s family member getting vaccinated by the employer or its agent? (5/28/21)

No.  Under GINA’s Title II health and genetic services provision, an employer may not offer any incentives to an employee in exchange for a family member’s receipt of a vaccination from an employer or its agent.   Providing such an incentive to an employee because a family member was vaccinated by the employer or its agent would require the vaccinator to ask the family member the pre-vaccination medical screening questions, which include medical questions about the family member.  Asking these medical questions would lead to the employer’s receipt of genetic information in the form of family medical history of the employee.  The regulations implementing Title II of GINA prohibit employers from providing incentives in exchange for genetic information.  Therefore, the employer may not offer incentives in exchange for the family member getting vaccinated.  However, employers may still offer an employee’s family member the opportunity to be vaccinated by the employer or its agent, if they take certain steps to ensure GINA compliance.