The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has finally issued proposed amendments to the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) regarding employer wellness programs.

The proposed regulations are very disappointing. They re-define “voluntary” participation in a wellness program to mean being penalized 1/3 of an employee’s health insurance premium cost. The average cost of single coverage is $5,615, with employees paying $951 out of pocket. More and more of the cost is being shifted to employees. Many employees, especially white women, suffer a wage penalty because of their weight. And most employees’ health insurance plans do not cover the costs of FDA approved medicines for weight loss, bariatric surgery or intensive behavioral interventions.

In particular, the proposed regulations do not require employers to tell employees of the availability of alternative avenues to receive the reward or avoid the penalty. They do not require employers to leave the final word on alternative avenues with the employee’s physician, which is required in the DOL/HHS regulations. There is no obvious penalty if the employee’s personal health data is not adequately protected by the employer and personal health data is used to an employee’s detriment. On the other hand, one useful provision limits the penalty/reward to 30% of the premium cost of a single person. Obviously, this is lower than the cost of family coverage. Industry is sure to fight this limitation, as they want to increase the size of the penalty/reward.

Comments are open until June 19,2015.

See EEOC press release here. See proposed regulations here. For additional information, see Ted Kyle’s blog here, and Tim Jost’s blog in Health Affairs here.

In the meantime, the federal government’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has told federal agencies to promote workplace wellness programs.