Employers, take warning! A federal judge in Illinois refused this week to dismiss a class action lawsuit brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act based on a "voluntary" wellness program. Employers should review...more
For years (and we do mean years), the EEOC has waffled about whether incentives were permissible in connection with a medical inquiry under a voluntary wellness program. Friday, the EEOC issued its most recent pronouncement...more
Update: The Alert below discuses wellness rules proposed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. Those proposed...more
On January 7, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued proposed wellness program rules. If the proposed rules become effective, they will significantly restrict the ability of employers to provide incentives...more
If you’re an employer trying to sponsor a wellness program for 2019, then the recent kerfuffle between the AARP and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) affects you. The AARP has challenged the EEOC’s...more
On August 22, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (“EEOC”) regulations defining what incentives an employer may use to promote participation...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: After an employee lost his employer-funded health insurance because he failed to complete a medical examination required by his employer, the EEOC sued the employer under the ADA’s ban on involuntary...more
On January 25, 2017, in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Flambeau, Inc., the Seventh Circuit rejected an EEOC challenge to an employer wellness program. The circuit court had the opportunity to address whether an...more
Wellness programs are trending in the U.S., especially with employers looking for ways to encourage and promote healthy lifestyles for their employees and to reduce the cost of their self-insured group health plan. Regardless...more
Trial to Be Scheduled on Retaliation Claim - MILWAUKEE - A federal court has ruled in favor of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in a disability discrimination case involving wellness programs filed...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: After the EEOC brought an action under the Americans With Disabilities Act against an employer who implemented a wellness program requiring employees to take a health assessment to participate, the Court...more
Editor's Overview - In this month’s newsletter, our colleagues focus on two sets of legislative updates. First is a discussion of the IRS’s proposed Treasury Regulations prescribing rules under Section 457 of the...more
As we reported last month, the final Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) rules require employers who offer wellness programs that include disability-related inquiries or medical examinations to provide a written notice to...more
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today posted on its website a sample notice that will help employers who have wellness programs comply with their obligations under a recently issued...more
On June 16, 2016, the EEOC issued its model notice to be used in conjunction with wellness programs that ask disability related inquiries or require medical examinations. The notice requirement applies prospectively to...more
In its preamble to the final regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) published May 17, 2016, which will be the topic of an upcoming blog post, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) once...more
On May 17, 2016, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued two rules specifying how employer-sponsored wellness plans can comply with the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) and the Americans...more
On May 17, 2016, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued two final rules relating to how employer-sponsored wellness programs may comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic...more
On May 16, 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued two final rules regarding employer wellness plans, the first to amend existing regulations under the Genetic Information and Non-Discrimination Act...more
On May 16, 2016, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued final rules on employer-sponsored wellness programs. The final rules clarify the EEOC’s position on wellness plan compliance with the Americans...more
Question: Our company offers employees a self-funded and self-insured health plan. We’d now like to implement a wellness program. Can we require employees to complete a health risk assessment which requests personal medical...more
On the last day of 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin ruled against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) in its suit against an employer under the Americans with Disabilities...more
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has steadfastly maintained that any wellness program that is not voluntary violates the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”). In 2014, the Chicago District Office...more
For the past couple of years, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has been challenging employer wellness programs for their alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The most recent...more
The question of whether a wellness program violates the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been unclear for some time. The Chicago District Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity...more