Get Healthy (Or Else?): The EEOC Proposes New Rules to Define When Participation in an Employer Wellness Program Is “Voluntary”

Under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), employers aren’t allowed to discriminate against workers based on health status. Under the ADA, employers can, however, ask workers for details about their health and conduct medical exams as part of a voluntary wellness program. Employers have been clamoring for the EEOC to spell out what “voluntary” means under the ADA and to clarify the relationship between the ADA and wellness program financial incentives permitted under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Affordable Care Act”).

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