USA: Compliance: Lower Court Decision Should Not Change Wellness Incentive Limits Strategies

The US District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the EEOC to “reconsider” its final regulations on the extent to which an employer may offer incentives to participate in a wellness program without violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).

The court, however, declined to vacate the regulations which means that the EEOC’s incentive limits for wellness plans under the ADA and GINA remain the law of the land. The decision was the result of litigation brought by AARP arguing that no meaningful incentive is permissible under the ADA and GINA and that most incentives rendered wellness programs “involuntary.” Most employers sponsoring wellness plans feel differently and only wanted to see ADA and GINA incentive limits better align with HIPAA incentive limits for wellness plans. We will continue to closely monitor this issue.

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