It is possible for employers to implement a non-voluntary wellness program without violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Wellness initiatives of various sorts have been spreading in recent years, providing information, encouraging healthy lifestyles and habits, offering incentives or even penalizing certain unhealthy behaviors. Employers have turned to these programs in growing numbers as they seek to limit their employee benefit costs, Human Resource Executive Online (HREO) notes. Some have also done so hoping to improve productivity and other aspects of business by transforming their workforce into a healthier one.
One major challenge in such programs is how to encourage participation. Employers have labored under legal concerns that mandating worker participation could set them on a course to conflict with the ADA, and have had varying results as they tried to use different methods to entice employees into becoming active in their wellness programs.
Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit upheld a ruling by a federal district court, which said that a wellness program in Florida's Broward County did not conflict with the ADA's prohibition against non-voluntary medical examinations and inquiries. The court found the program was legally acceptable because it applied to a legitimate employee benefit arrangement involving underwriting risks, as well as classifying and administering them.
The wellness program was part of the county's open enrollment process, and included a health questionnaire and biometric screening. Employees who did not complete the two paid an additional $20 for participation in the county's health and pharmacy benefits program, while those who did could receive medications for certain conditions free of charge if they were willing to receive disease management coaching.
Issue still relatively new to courts
This case was the first of its kind at the appellate level, an expert told the news source. Similar rulings are likely to occur in other jurisdictions as well, he indicated, although only time will tell for certain. This may be good news for employers who are trying to increase the effectiveness of their wellness programs and improve enrollment rates and effective participation.
At the same time, there are still many compliance challenges associated with wellness programs. In addition to the ADA, requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act may apply. Beginning in 2014, further complications may be introduced by provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as well.
