Wellness Programs: EEOC's New Rules on Health Privacy and Employer Coercion

Do you administer or participate in an employer-sponsored wellness program? The EEOC proposed new rules. In sum: 1. For an employee's participation in a wellness program that is part of a group health plan to be deemed voluntary, an employer must notify an employee about medical information that will be obtained, how the medical information will be used, who will receive the medical information, the restrictions on its disclosure, and the methods the covered entity uses to prevent improper disclosure of medical information. (Think of a blood pressure standard set by the plan.) 2. The employer's offer of limited incentives to participate in wellness programs that are part of a group health plan and that include disability-related inquiries and/or medical examinations cannot be "involuntary." See here: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/04/20/2015-08827/amendments-to-regulations-under-the-americans-with-disabilities-act