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Legal Alert

Employer Wellness Programs Face Challenges

Employer Wellness Programs Face Challenges

Incentives to get workers healthy are growing, but the EEOC says some of them violate the ADA.

Employer wellness programs provide employees access to weight control programs, exercise routines and more. Healthier employees reduce health care claims and employer health care costs. These employees also tend to be absent less and more productive.

In 2000, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sanctioned wellness programs provided they included voluntary medical examinations and activities that were part of an employee health program. "A wellness program is "voluntary" as long as an employer neither requires participation nor penalizes employees who do not participate," the EEOC said in its July 27, 2000, "Enforcement Guidance: Disability-Related Inquiries and Medical Examinations of Employees Under the Americans with Disabilities Act."

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For More Information, Please Contact:

Diane Marie O'Malley
Diane Marie O'Malley
Partner
San Francisco, CA