Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
A woman on a treadmill at work. Photo: Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Workplaces have increasingly offered employees financial bonuses for hitting new wellness goals, but the initiatives have recently become controversial given they offer employers an inside look at their employee's health records, writes Julie Appleby of NPR.
The big picture: The Americans with Disabilities Act and genetic privacy laws prevent employers from looking at employees' health information. Critics of the program argue that employers wouldn't be able to access this data without providing financial incentive to their employees, and sometimes that incentive is so large that employees can't afford not to participate.
The state of play: A federal judge recently rejected a wellness rule set by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that would have imposed a 30% benefit cap to employees participating in workplace wellness programs.
- The judge ruled the EEOC failed to prove that a 30% cap does not render the plan involuntary, forcing the commission to come up with a new rule.
- On January 1, the judge's decision will take effect, and will essentially overturn all existing rules relating to the programs.
- Nearly 4 in 10 employers say they aren't sure how their wellness plans will change after the ruling, Appleby writes, but experts expect these incentives to decline.
Be smart: Despite people's willingness to participate in these programs, the improvement they have on employee health is modest at best, Bloomberg reports. Employee behavior only changes marginally, and some who aren't healthy choose not to participate, rendering the programs unnecessary.
The bottom line: The programs won't be going anywhere given employers want to keep health insurance costs down, but questions about how to regulate them will only become more prominent.