The AARP’s Position on EEOC Wellness Program Rules

By Amanda Warford Edge

While the focus in the Bluegrass state over the past couple of weeks has been on horses and bourbon, a lobbying group for older Americans — the AARP — has asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C. to rule that the EEOC’s new guidelines for employee wellness programs are illogical and arbitrary.  According to the AARP, the guidelines allow companies to violate workers’ medical privacy rights.  The AARP filed its summary judgment motion on Friday, April 28.  The lawsuit was initially filed in October 2016.  Wellness programs, of course, include programs where an employer provides incentives for workers to quit smoking, lose weight or undergo preventative health screenings, among other things.  Workers who participate in such programs are usually asked by employers to provide certain confidential medical information.

Previously, the EEOC had maintained that any financial incentive rendered wellness programs involuntary.  In adopting new guidelines last year, the EEOC ruled that