With the new year upon us, chances are that your employees are making those age old resolutions to lose weight, get fit, and exercise more. And, if you sponsor or offer an employee wellness program, your employees might be looking to use the program to help them stick to their resolutions. But what happens if an employee exerts himself too much, pushes herself a little too far, and hurts him or herself in the process? Are you, the employer, on the hook for such injury? Is the employee covered by workers’ compensation? Maybe.
Continue Reading Is An Injury Sustained by an Employee While Participating in a Workplace Wellness Program Compensable Under the Workers’ Compensation Act?
Wellness Programs
Federal Appeals Court Gives Wellness Program a Clean Bill of Health
By Jodi Frankel on
Posted in Employee Benefits
Employers and wellness advocates have long been confounded by the complex gauntlet of federal laws and regulations that must be considered when structuring wellness programs. HIPAA’s non-discrimination requirements, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”) and, perhaps most daunting, the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) are among the laws that come into play when an employer is considering its wellness plan options.
Perhaps the most closely watched legal issue concerning wellness programs is this: May an employer offer a health coverage premium discount to those employees who complete a “health risk assessment” (“HRA”) that is administered in connection with a wellness program? Or, put another way, may employees who choose not to complete an HRA be subject to a premium surcharge? HIPAA regulations clearly allow employers to offer “bona fide wellness programs” with limited premium discounts; however, tying a discount to completion of an HRA presents a potential rub under the ADA.
Continue Reading Federal Appeals Court Gives Wellness Program a Clean Bill of Health