A federal district court has vacated parts of the E.E.O.C.’s 2016 rules on employer wellness programs. Prior to the court’s action, wellness programs that were part of a group health plan and that included inquiries into an employee’s health or included medical examinations were permitted to offer discounts to the cost of self-only and spousal coverage. The court’s order vacates those incentive provisions. For detailed information, see the judge’s memorandum.

Note that wellness programs can lawfully report the employees’ health information only in an aggregated form that does not include personally identifiable information.