AARP Sues EEOC Over Employee Wellness Plans

Many employee wellness programs violate anti-discrimination laws aimed at protecting workers’ medical information, AARP claims, in a federal lawsuit filed against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. AARP also questions whether many such programs are truly voluntary, when the penalty for not participating can be high. In May, the EEOC approved new rules that said incentives for joining company wellness programs could equal up to 30 percent of the annual cost of a worker’s health insurance coverage. That means refusing to participate could cost workers thousands. Given the stakes, AARP claims, older workers would have to either risk losing thousands in financial penalties, or divulge medical information that, “once revealed, will never be confidential again.” The group seeks a preliminary injunction to stop the rules, which are set to go into effect next year.