The EEOC has formally rescinded two provisions from its regulations governing voluntary corporate wellness programs under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). The rescinded provisions dealt specifically with the size of permissible incentives designed to encourage participation, provisions that were separately struck down by a federal court in 2017.
Because the EEOC’s action has once again raised questions as to what if any incentives employers can offer in conjunction with wellness programs that do not run afoul of the ADA and/or GINA, we thought this would be a good time to summarize the current state of the law governing wellness plan incentives and the risks that employers should be cognizant of if they choose to utilize such incentives.
A copy of the EEOC’s Federal Register notice rescinding the two provisions is available here.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.