Ascension Health Facing Class Action for Alleged Violation of Illinois Genetic Privacy Law

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A proposed class action accuses Ascension Health of unlawfully requesting that job applicants and employees in Illinois disclose their family medical histories for the purpose of making employment decisions.

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The nine-page lawsuit alleges the defendant—a nationwide healthcare system that operates 140 hospitals, including multiple Ascension Saint Mary locations—has collected prospective and current employees’ family medical histories as part of its hiring process in direct violation of the Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA).

According to the suit, the GIPA prohibits employers from directly or indirectly requesting or using workers’ protected genetic data—including their family medical histories—to assist in making employment decisions.

The plaintiff, an Ascension Saint Mary employee residing in Illinois, says she applied for a position at the defendant’s Kankakee, Illinois location in January 2023. As part of the hiring procedure, the woman was required to submit to a pre-employment physical during which an Ascension medical provider asked her to disclose her family medical history, the case relays.

As the complaint tells it, the plaintiff would not have supplied her genetic data if the defendant’s staff member had not requested her to do so.

By asking employees to provide their GIPA-protected genetic information, Ascension has violated workers’ privacy rights, the filing claims.

The lawsuit looks to represent any Illinois residents who, within the past five years, applied for employment with or were employed by Ascension Health in Illinois.

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