The Burr Broadcast – Labor and Employment Update
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proposed two new regulations on January 7 applying the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) to...more
Synopsis: For years, employers have struggled to understand what level of incentives in wellness programs might be considered “voluntary” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). ...more
Wellness programs have been, and continue to be, of interest to both employees and employers. Employees are more and more aware of healthy living initiatives. ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: New Year’s resolutions typically address health and well-being. Many among us have resolved this year to get off the couch, to sweat a bit more often to the “oldies,” to meditate and be mindful, and to eat...more
As we alluded in our “Preparing for the Unknown: Open Enrollment 2018” blog post, employers that are finalizing their employee benefit plan designs in advance of the 2018 plan year would be well-advised to monitor the...more
For years, employers have been trying to find the right incentives for employees to embrace wellness programs. If incentives are too meager, employees are not likely to participate. If they are weighted too heavily in favor...more
Q. Are the EEOC’s Wellness Program rules still valid? A. The ADA and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act both permit an employer to seek medical information as part of a wellness program if the employee...more
On Tuesday, August 22, the US District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the EEOC to revisit its controversial rules placing certain limits on employer-sponsored wellness programs under the Americans with...more
When is a financial incentive in an employee-sponsored wellness program so high that employees can’t afford not to participate—rendering the program no longer voluntary? Well (pun intended), the District Court for the...more
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia invalidated the EEOC’s final regulations on the operation of voluntary wellness programs under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Genetic discrimination lawsuits can result in substantial costs. California employers should regularly review their hiring and employment policies and procedures to ensure that they are not exposing...more
Employees who don’t want to disclose genetic information about themselves and their families to their employers may have to pay a stiff price for that privacy in the future. The Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act (H.R....more
House bill HR 1313, introduced by Representative Virginia Foxx (R.N.C.), proposes to allow companies to require employees to undergo genetic testing, then allow employers to see the results, and impose financial penalties on...more
Littler's WPI Insider Report details key labor, employment, and benefits news and events at the federal, state, local, and global levels. The December edition of the Insider Report discusses recent efforts to block...more
As we start looking forward to 2017, and as many employers head into annual enrollment periods this fall, employers need to be aware of recent changes in the law that have a significant impact on health benefit plans. This...more
The EEOC’s regulations allayed many concerns over the permissible level of incentives/penalties, as well as the challenge of dealing with inconsistent requirements under the various laws. Originally published in The HR...more
In light of new rules from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), employers should examine their wellness programs now (and during open enrollment for next year) to determine the potential impact of the final...more
As discussed in a prior alert, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued final rules providing guidance on the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information...more
With the final rules, the EEOC tried to harmonize, to some extent, its new regulations with the existing HIPAA/ACA regulations. On May 17, 2016, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued long-awaited...more
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued two final rules May 16, 2016 that guide employers on the manner with which their wellness programs that ask health-related questions and/or require participants to...more
Increasingly, more employers are offering workplace wellness programs to promote and encourage healthier lifestyles for their employees and to prevent disease. These programs often involve medical questionnaires, health risk...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has published final regulations and a set of questions and answers on how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to employer-sponsored wellness programs that offer...more
Many employers offer some type of “wellness program” to their employees as a way to improve employee health and reduce healthcare spending. Wellness programs can be called many different things, including “weight loss...more
Yesterday, the EEOC issued its final regulations providing guidance on wellness program incentives under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. The ADA regulations address...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a proposed rule amending prior regulations under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) to address incentives in workplace wellness programs....more