In Honeywell’s program, workers and their spouses have been asked to undergo screening that includes drawing blood to test cholesterol levels and a determination of body mass index by measurement of height, weight and circumference.
Holdouts were assessed a $500 surcharge on their 2015 health insurance plans, and could lose as much as $1,500 in company contributions to health savings accounts and be docked as much as $2,000 more in tobacco-related surcharges, according to the EEOC’s complaint.
Incentives
Under Thursday’s proposed rules, employers would not be allowed to threaten or otherwise coerce workers to participate, other than by using financial rewards and penalties. Companies couldn’t punish workers with disciplinary measures such as suspension or firing if they opt out.
Financial incentives typically aren’t as effective as employers expect at luring workers into wellness programs, said Soeren Mattke, a health researcher at the non-profit RAND Corporation.
One company that levied a $600 penalty on smokers who refused to participate in a cessation program found that more than 70 percent of the workers chose to pay the penalty, Mattke said.
While the proposed rules take a step toward a unified policy with other agencies that have issued their own regulations, there are still differences. The Treasury Department, Health and Human Services Department, and Labor Department have put out their own guidelines, with differing rules to the EEOC’s proposal on how large the incentives can be and how to deal with tobacco cessation programs.
Under the EEOC proposal, employers wouldn’t have access to medical information about individual workers, only aggregated data about their entire workforce. Workers would have to be provided notices describing what information is collected in the wellness program, how it’s used and who sees it.
The agency said it will take public comments on its proposal until June 19, before issuing final regulations.