Introducing Congress’ proposed fix for wellness incentives

By Christian Schappel

If you’re frustrated by the EEOC’s recent lawsuits against wellness programs, and are confused about what a legal wellness incentive is nowadays, you’ll probably like this: 
The Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act was just introduced in both the House and Senate. It’s a short bill that aims to clear up the confusion sparked by the EEOC around what’s an acceptable wellness program incentive and what isn’t.
As you may recall, the EEOC sued Honeywell International Inc. late last year, claiming the company’s wellness program biometric screenings violated the ADA and GINA because:

• the incentives to participate in the screenings were so extreme — they could cost non-participating employees up to $4,000 — that they rendered the wellness program involuntary (the alleged ADA violation), and
• the screenings illegally tied incentives to the collection of family members’ medical history (the alleged GINA violation).

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