EEOC Issues Final Regulations for Wellness Programs

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On Monday May 16, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) posted their two long awaited Final Rules. These provide guidance to both employers and employees about how workplace wellness programs can comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information Discrimination Act (GINA). This goes beyond the rules under HIPAA as amended by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The rules go into effect for all plans starting January 1, 2017 or later.

The two rules affirmed disability related inquiries and medical exams can still be seen as voluntary as long as employersÂ’ discounts or incentives do not exceed more than 30% of the cost of an employeeÂ’s individual health coverage. The final GINA rule notes the maximum incentive that can be provided to an employeeÂ’s spouse is also limited to 30% of the employee individual coverage.

What does this mean for employers? For most these rules provide much needed clarity, while also allowing wellness programs to continue business as usual.

Vitality strives to remain a leader in workplace wellness and make compliance easy for each of its customers.  This is not legal advice, and Vitality encourages anyone providing their employees a wellness program to seek their own legal advice.

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