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ARTICLE · 19 DECEMBER 2018

3 Options For Providing Wellness Program Incentives In 2019…And Beyond

Fisher Phillips LLP
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Employers are about to enter into limbo when it comes to maintaining wellness programs, and you will soon need to make a decision about how you will implement any such programs at your workplace.

United StatesEmployment and HR
Mathew A. Parker
Mathew A. Parker
Melissa Shimizu
Melissa Shimizu
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Employers are about to enter into limbo when it comes to maintaining wellness programs, and you will soon need to make a decision about how you will implement any such programs at your workplace. As of January 1, 2019, the federal rules that had been put into place to govern wellness program incentives will be officially invalid, meaning that you will be somewhat in the wilderness when it comes to creating and enforcing a voluntary wellness program. Here's a quick summary of how we got to this point, and three options for you to consider in light of the impending absence of rules.

Recap Of The Soon-To-Be "Old" Wellness Program Rules

The EEOC's final rules published in May 2016 provided that employers could use an incentive or penalty of up to 30 percent of the cost of self-only coverage to encourage participation in an employer-sponsored wellness program without rendering the program "involuntary" in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the

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