Monica Novak's Alert on Wellness Program Developments Republished in Employee Benefit Plan Review

“Wellness Program Developments,” a client alert written by Philadelphia associate Monica Novak, was reprinted in Employee Benefit Plan Review, a monthly journal alerting employee benefits professionals to developments in the field.

Monica’s alert discusses recent developments that may affect employers that offer health-focused wellness programs to their employees. Since May 2016, when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued final regulations (known as the EEOC Wellness Regulations), applying the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) to employer-sponsored wellness programs, employers have had to evaluate whether their wellness programs are subject to the ADA rules, the GINA rules, or the full scope of the EEOC Wellness Regulations.

Additionally, employers must consider two recent cases that implicate health-focused wellness programs. In the first case, AARP v. United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the D.C. Circuit remanded the EEOC Wellness Regulations to the EEOC for further consideration – so employers need to be aware that revised regulations will be issued in the near future. In the second case, Acosta v. Macy’s, Inc., the Department of Labor alleges that Macy’s sponsored a workplace wellness program that did not comply with the applicable Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) rules. This case is a reminder to employers that the EEOC Wellness Regulations aren’t the only rules that may impact an employer’s ability to offer a workplace wellness program.

*Following additional developments in the AARP v. United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission case, please note that the original “Wellness Program Developments” alert was updated to the version that appears in the Employee Benefit Plan Review.

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Read Monica’s alert, “Wellness Program Developments.”