EEOC Guidance On Wellness Plans Long Overdue

Wellness programs, popular workplace health initiatives that seek to benefit employees who exercise or eat healthy, still occupy a gray area when they reward participants employees, or penalize non-participants, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. However, EEOC has not clarified its position since saying in a January 2013 letter that it “has not taken a position” on whether giving or withholding rewards violates the idea of a truly voluntary work program. Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) asked the agency to elaborate on its position in a September 2013 letter, but Michael Soltis of Jackson Lewis suggests further guidance may still be a long ways off.