Posts from — May 2009

Prior to you start laying out your Employee Wellness Program you need to know where you are now and then decide where you want to go.  Completing a thorough needs assessment is vital to the effectiveness of your wellness program for two reasons:  First it ensures that your Employee Wellness Program activities will be targeted to meet your company’s specific needs so that outcomes can be achieved.  Secondly the needs assessment supplies the information you will need to evaluate the effectiveness of your wellness program.

It is often tempting to hurry through the assessment – especially when time is short or those with experience already have an idea of needs.  Do not give in to this temptation!  It is vital to be aware of what your corporation needs are, what management expects, and what staff members want as well as expect, before you begin a Employee Wellness Program.  

Consider and collect data on:

• Employee Demographic Information
• Employee Health Risk Factors
• Medical Claims
• Injury Rates & Causes
• Workers’ Compensation Claims
• Short and Long Term Disability Claims
• Rates of Absenteeism
• Corporation Culture Audits
• Employee perceived needs and health risks
• Upper Management’s expectations or desired outcomes

There are many ways to assess this information.  Although some of data gathering process may be time consuming, remember that it is nonetheless important to plan programs that target specific problems.  This information will be critical to set goals and for evaluating program success.  How else can you know if outcomes have been achieved?

Options to help gather the information:

• Confidential Health Risk Appraisals (HRAs) with a Organization Group Summary Report
• Wellness Screenings such as blood lipids, Blood Pressure and blood glucose click here for additional information on health screenings.
• Employee Needs and Interest Surveys
• Suggestion boxes placed around the organization
• Focus Groups or hosting a luncheon meeting as a focus group
• Sending out a confidential email questionnaire
• Review records and databases including OSHA logs, first aid reports, insurance costs  

Once your needs assessment is complete, the Worksite Health Promotion Program Committee can review the outcome and begin creating and prioritizing program options.  Planning should be based upon goals/objectives and identified outcomes, Step 4 of the seven step process!

Securing an active Workplace Wellness Program Committee supplies opportunities for both management and employee involvement in the program.  The Wellness Committee ought to be a group of staff members and managers who formally meet to plan activities to reward healthier employee lifestyles.

Typical Functions of a Workplace Health Promotion Program Committee:

• Analyzing needs & interests
• Brainstorming program ideas
• Developing activities
• Creating communication plans
• Promoting programs to co-staff members
• Serving as champions of the Company Health Promotion Programs
• Assisting with assessment  

Your Company Wellness Program Committee should be representative of all levels of the company.  Consider all sections of the workforce – multiple sites, shift workers, diversity (race, gender, ethnicity), and departments.   It’s also significant to consider who will chair or co-chair the Company Wellness Program Committee and whether or not there are the finances to support a Company Wellness Program manager or occupational health consultant, even on a part-time or contractual basis.  Click here for more information on the benefits of a health consultant.  

Depending on your organization size and resources, if you already have a organization Safety Committee you may want to think about making it the Safety & Corporate Health Promotion Program Committee.  You have the potential to request volunteers or invite staff members to participate.  

The number of Workplace Health Promotion Program Committee participants depends on the size of your business; however, you need enough participants to get the work done and yet not too many to keep it manageable, usually a minimum of 4 participants and maximum of 12 to 15 participants.  It’s important to include skeptics of wellness as well and not just those employees already practicing healthy lifestyles.  

Depending on your workplace, consider representatives from the following areas:

• Employee representatives from a cross section of different departments,
• Senior Management
• Health and safety professional(s),
• Human resources consultant(s),
• Employee benefits representative or someone from finance,
• Your Employee Assistance Program(EAP) provider (if applicable), Click here for more information on EAPs
• Occupational health employee (if applicable).

Establish a strong Employee Wellness Program Committee!  The Employee Wellness Program Committee must meet frequently with a planned agenda and action items.  Successful Wellness Committees have a shared mission, vision and objectives and goals.  Participants need to believe that their participation is worthwhile and appreciated, that their work is important, benefits the organization and co-staff members, and they are recognized for their contributions. Refer to the NC Workplace Programs section for examples of what other organizations have implemented.

As with any program, the two most important components for the success of your wellness program are management reinforcement & employee participation.  Senior Management determines the vision and provides the resources from which action plans flow.  Genuine reinforcement from senior personnel also brings credibility to the wellness plan.  It is important that management be visible supporters and role models for your Employee Health Promotion Program.

workers need to be involved on several levels so that they feel ownership of the wellness program.  Staff Members are the program stakeholders!  All workers must have a chance to offer input and feedback through needs & interest surveys and program evaluation tools.  The information gathered must be used to plan programs that target those needs and interests to ensure participation, buy-in, and support.

There are several methods to identify employee needs and interests such as:

• Holding Employee Focus Groups
• Discussing Wellness Interests During Department meetings
• Distributing and Encapsulating a Needs & Interest Survey
• (Including|Allowing for|Making sure to include} an Opportunity to Give Suggestions on Each Evaluation Tool  

Any one or combination of several techniques will make sure that the wellness program meets what staff members want.

Step 3 supplies additional information on determining wellness program needs.  But first, instituting a Employee Wellness Program Committee can help you involve upper management & workers, determine need, and plan your wellness program.

A key to a thriving Workplace Wellness Program requires management responsibility and employee involvement.

Corporate Health Promotion Program Step 2: Form a Corporate Health Promotion Program Committee

An active Employee Health Promotion Program Committee ensures employee participation, provides buy-in, management reinforcement, and maintains a crew that is ready to take action to launch wellness programs.

Corporate Health Promotion Program Step 3: Gather Data to Identify Key Needs and Expectations

The next critical component is to base the Worksite Wellness Program on the needs and interests of your company and its staff members.

Worksite Wellness Program Step 4: Create Goals and Objectives

Goals and objectives are the road maps to guide you where your program needs to go.   These make up the foundation for planning and evaluating activities to see to it that your wellness program is going to meet your unique needs.

Company Health Promotion Program Step 5: Develop a Detailed Action Plan

There is no such thing as too much planning!  The best of intentions can get lost, overstepped, or forgotten withoutadequate planning, and then it would be all for naught.

Employee Wellness Program Step 6: Select and Implement a Plan

Now that you have the needs assessment results, a Worksite Health Promotion Program Committee, goals/objectives it’s now time to start your plan!

Workplace Health Promotion Program Step 7: Oversee and Assess Your Workplace Health Promotion Program

Evaluation is a critical step to keep a program focused, as well as to see that the program is reaching its goals or achieving favorable results.

In Summary

These Seven Steps outline considerations for a all-inclusive approach to establishing an effective wellness program.  Can you implement components of wellness activities without following these steps?  Certainly, but you may lack the sustainability or ability to see desired outcomes.  Following the Seven Steps does not have to be complicated or burdensome.  A very simple approach can achieve a successful wellness program!

Therefore, to ensure a successful wellness program consider the key components as you plan your program or better your current program:

• Upper Management Support & Employee Involvement
• Active Company Health Promotion Program Committee
• Worksite Health Promotion Program is Based on Employee Needs & Interests
• Corporate Health Promotion Program Goals and Objectives are Determined
• Detailed Employee Wellness Program Action Plan Based upon Resources & Budget
• Worksite Health Promotion Program Implementation & Internal Marketing
• Assessment of Worksite Health Promotion Program Outcomes

The program design options depend on the objectives and goals and desired outcomes of your program.  If your goal is to help employees make a change behavior, decrease risk factors, or save healthcare money then your wellness program would be designed to accomplish those outcomes and a budget would be significant to support that design.  

There are different wellness program design levels depending on desired outcomes and budgets.  Each level has advantages and disadvantages.  The intentions or results are quite different, are not interchangeable in terms of obtaining the same results, and therefore should not be confused.  For example, scheduling activities such as an employee wellness and health fair or lunchtime education sessions, or having brochures available do not usually result in behavior modification, but may expand awareness on a topic.  If the intention is behavior modification then a different design is required, such as Lifestyle/Behavior Change Programs and Organization Support.  The outline below describes the wellness design levels with a brief explanation.

Awareness Programs:  At this level a company makes health information available and accessible to employees.  This type of program can include handouts on a variety of issues, wellness articles in newsletters, bulletin board displays, e-mail health messages, etc.   Also, most wellness fairs are designed as awareness programs with vendors providing information and providing wellness screenings to employees.  

Awareness programs are cheap and do not require extensive employee or company time commitments.  Still, these programs do not usually result in behavior change.  Growing awareness isn’t usually sufficient to generate lifestyle changes for most Americans, unless used to arouse workers to register for a program being provided at the company or community on the topic.  An example of this would be providing information on the harmful effects of smoking and inviting workers who use tobacco to register for a tobacco cessation class.

Education Programs:  Educational programs frequently provide more information on a topic and are able to also provide time for Q & A, but are similar to awareness programs.  An example is lunch-n-learn sessions on a health related topic.  These cost the corporation a bit more than awareness programs; however, they are still inexpensive and do not require much time for planning or attending a session.  Again, increasing awareness and offering information may not lead to the desired behavior change unless ongoing reinforcement or incentives are also planned.

Lifestyle/Behavior Change Programs:  These programs are designed as 4 to 12 weekly sessions or classes to provide health and wellbeing education, address barriers and provide opportunities to practice the desired skills.  Behavior change programs therefore require more business resources, cost more, and also require more employee responsibility, time and effort.  The results are frequently the desired beneficial lifestyle change, which if sustained can lead to potential cost savings.  

Examples include smoking cessation classes, weight loss and weight management meetings, or an ongoing exercise program.

Environmental and Company Support:  Environmental support is often considered the highest and most significant level to include when creating your wellness program in order to support and maintain healthy behaviors.  These types of design options include policy changes such as:

• Creating a smoke-free workplace
• Designating a walking path,
• Establishing worksite fitness centers,
• Ensuring healthy snack machines choices,
• Offering healthy food choices in the cafeteria, and/or
• Securing flex-time policies.  

Other examples include subsidizing healthy snack machines or cafeteria choices; reimbursing fitness center or weight loss and weight management program memberships; or providing insurance rewards and incentives for healthy lifestyles.

Ideally, the wellness program design would include some of each of these options.  The more comprehensive the approach, the more successful the results will be.  For example, a business can have smoking cessation information available; can schedule a one hour awareness session on the harmful effects of smoking and how to quit; can start an worksite smoking cessation program, supply self quit smoking kits, or support workers to attend a neighborhood program; and/or on an environmental support level can establish a tobacco-free workplace and grounds, offer lower health care insurance for non-smokers, or offer pharmacological quit smoking aids for free.

Workplace Health Promotion Program: Components for Success

There are several critical parts that must be considered to see to the success of your Employee Health Promotion Program or Employee Health Promotion Program.  These include:  

• Senior Management Support & Employee Involvement
• Active Workplace Wellness Program Committee
• Program is Based on Employee Needs & Interests
• Goals and Objectives are Determined
• Detailed Action Plan Based on Resources & Budget
• Program Implementation & Internal Marketing
• Assessment of Outcomes and Program

Major advantages of healthy staff members include:

• Decreased Healthcare costs
• Diminished Injuries
• Reduced Absenteeism
• Boosted Morale and Loyalty
• Higher Productivity
• Reduced Use of Healthcare Benefits
• Reduced Workers’ Comp/Disability
• Positive Image in Community
• Lowered Turnover
• Improved recruitment for skilled staff members

What is NOT Having a Workplace Wellness Program Costing Your Organization?  

Consider the health risk factors that are exacerbating chronic diseases for adults:

• 59% of Americans are overweight or obese
• Greater than 60% of Americans do not get regular exercise
• More than 75 percent of American citizens do not consume the minimum recommendations for fruits and vegetables
• Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death and the # 1 cause of death in smokers
• 26% of staff members stated they were frequently or very frequently burned out or stressed by their job  

Health Care expenditures are Growing:  Health Care costs are at a record level of $1.7 trillion with no signs of leveling out, let alone going down.  The average expense of annual medical spending is over $5,000 per person and with dependents almost $10,000.  Recent data shows that medical related expenditures now cost North Carolina companies thousands of dollars per employee, per year.

Most Illnesses Can Be Prevented:  Although it sounds unrealistic, experts indicate that avoidable illness makes up 60 percent – 70 percent of the entire burden of illness in the U.S..   In North Carolina, it is estimated that more than 53 percent of all deaths are avoidable, and that 2/3 of all avoidable deaths are due to tobacco use, a sedentary lifestyle, and poor diet.

Stress Levels are On the Rise:  As corporation resources diminish and businesses adopt cheaper work practices, the effects of absenteeism and productivity lost have an increased impact.  In a new national poll, 78 percent of the population described their jobs as stressful, and most believe that stress levels have risen over The previous 10 years.  In addition, high levels of corporation stress are able to negatively affect a corporation by increasing injuries, absenteeism, and health care costs while decreasing productiveness.  Simple solutions such as stress management education, flexible work schedules, quality social interaction, and increased participation in corporation decision-making are able to better stress levels in the workplace.

What is the Upfront Cost and Time Investment for a Worksite Wellness Program?

The cost is dependent upon the type of Company Health Promotion Program implemented.  There are several options to encourage employee health with advantages and disadvantages of each.  The program design is dependent upon the objectives and goals of the wellness program, the organization resources, and the area resources available.  

Improving nutrition, expanding physical activity levels, managing stress or addressing work life balance problems, and lowering/eliminating tobacco use, are primary strategies for preventing many of the most common avoidable chronic diseases. The possibilities of how your employer addresses these problems are endless and can range from expanding employee awareness, which may include purchasing a few pamphlets on a variety of topics, and calculating walking distances around your facility, to instituting employer backing such as funding a full-time occupational health professional or building an onsite fitness center.  

When well-planned and based on your goals/objectives, any of these programs have the potential to help you succeed.  Refer below to Company Health Promotion Program Design Options for additional ideas.

A Workplace Health Promotion Program is a multi-faceted program to assist and support staff members in adopting healthier lifestyles.  This can include rising employee awareness on health topics, scheduling behavior modification programs, and/or adopting organization policies that support health-related objectives.  Programs and policies that encourage increased physical movement, tobacco use prevention and cessation, and healthy meal selections are a few examples.  

Dimensions of Wellness

Wellness is much more than fitness alone.  In addition to physical fitness, the dimensions of good health include:

   • Spiritual Dimension of Wellness,
   • Emotional Dimension of Wellness,
   • Social Dimension of Wellness,
   • Intellectual Wellness

These dimensions are often portrayed as a “life wheel” with examples of health dimensions that include fitness, diet, purpose in life, financial planning, social well-being & support systems, stress management, mind-body health, career planning and constant learning.   The key for individual health is keeping the “life wheel” in balance.  A all-inclusive workplace wellness program addresses most, if not all, of these dimensions.

Why Worksite Wellness Programs?

staff members invest a great deal of time on the job, and the fact of the matter is that our traditional work-week is increasing.  In fact, the average American now labors about 47 hours per week.  In addition, innovations such as modems, laptop computers, cell phones, voice and email have blurred the line between life and work.  These realities diminish the amount of time that the average person is able to spend on health & wellness pursuits, and yet staff members are predicted to be top of their game when at work.

A current study by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses observed that workplace wellness or Employee Wellness Programs are successful in assisting staff members to make beneficial health changes due to several factors such as convenience, environmental reinforcement, and co-worker or social acceptance.  

What’s the Link between Wellness and the Workplace?

Programs and policies that reward healthy behaviors have the potential to make a sizable difference on employee wellness AND have an influence on the business’s bottom line.  Studies have shown that for every dollar invested by employers in Company Wellness Programs/wellness programs, there were savings ranging from $1.49 to $4.91 with a median savings of $3.14*.  In business jargon, that’s more than a 3:1 minimum ROI – a number that is hard to disregard, and a best practice that must warrant serious consideration from employers.  In fact, a Company Wellness Program literature review posted in Health Promotion Practitioner Journal saw:

   • 19 research studies found a 28.3% decrease in sick time
   • 16 research studies determined a 5.6:1 ROI
   • 23 showed a 26.1 percent decrease in health care costs
   • 4 saw a 30 percent decline in direct health care and workers’ compensation claims

There is little doubt that a accross the board wellness program targeted to meet an enterprise’s specific needs can save money by reducing absenteeism, reducing healthcare costs, reducing employee turnover, and expanding productiveness.

• The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2003

Following cost, poor employee program engagement and inadequate talks and backing are listed as the greatest challenges for organizations administering any health benefi t program.22

By law, corporations are required to explain any benefits or explicit conditions of employment to all workers – this is called “due process,” and it usually takes the form of a packet of information that new workers are asked to review and sign during orientation or, in the case of existing workers, a brief communication during open enrollment periods.

Employers that only take part in the minimally needed due process communication of a Worksite Wellness Program, however, do a disservice to the program and the business.

Opinions about Healthcare in employers represent one of the largest disconnects between management and workers. In discussing the need for savings, most employers (70%) believe their corporation effectively communicates about rising Healthcare costs, while only 34% of workers feel rising Healthcare costs influence their business’ ability to succeed.23 When it comes to conduct, 74% of employers believe their workers ought to be held largely accountable for improving, managing and maintaining health, yet only 4% of employers think that workers engage in these activities.

Under the proposed rules, the four requirements to be a bona fide Corporate Wellness Program are:

- The total reward that may be given to an individual is limited. The departments invited comments on the appropriate level of the reward, suggesting that a limit of 10 percent to 20 percent of the total cost of employee-only coverage may be appropriate.
- The program must be reasonably designed to promote great health or prevent disease for individuals in the program.
- The reward must be available to all similarly situated individuals. More specifically, the program must allow any individual for whom it is unreasonably diffi cult due to a health care condition to meet the Worksite Wellness Program standard (or for whom it is medically inadvisable to attempt to meet the Worksite Wellness Program standard) an opportunity to satisfy a reasonable alternative standard.
- All plan materials describing the terms of the program must disclose the availability of a reasonable alternative standard.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration

As Northwestern Memorial’s Kathryn Krivy says, “The most fundamental failure in any Workplace Health Promotion Program is not communicating. You need to tell people what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. You have to get employees engaged and educate them of what’s going on.”

A properly createed Company Health Promotion Program is designed to save a organization more money with better participation. Still, a organization must match its focus on program design with an equally strategic investment in efforts to engage staff members in the initiatives.

Lay out your case – Despite widespread recognition of rising Healthcare costs, staff members remain skeptical that the concern impacts business operations. In fact, only 53% of staff members even believe what their business communicates about the subject.24 Businesses need to be more candid and forthcoming about the amount they spend on Healthcare and how that relates to larger budgetary constraints and potential investments.

Says Motorola’s Saenz: “We share with workers that we have been able to maintain Motorola’s Medical Care spend trend below national average over the past several years due to their participation in our various Worksite Health Promotion Programs. This transparency is necessary to keep reminding people the reasons for our behaviors.”

An effective strategy is to focus on the cost savings and central health benefi ts to the employee and not the company. By personalizing the information in this way, it creates a win-win scenario instead of presenting the program as a sacrifi ce on the part of the employee. Information ought to be presented through multiple channels, constructed in a way that makes sense to all levels of staff members, and offered to staff members, dependents and retirees.

Make it your own – Every Employee Health Promotion Program will be different, and should reflect the culture of a business. While program areas will be determined by analyzing employee health risks, the actual offerings should be shaped by the nature of the business. Younger, more active employee communities may be attracted by different programs than an older or technicaloriented employee. Additionally, a global business with mobile staff members will have different needs than a business with one central location.

As noted earlier regarding PepsiCo’s HealthRoads, one strategy is for businesses to brand their Worksite Health Promotion Programs. Union Pacifi c Railroad (HealthTracks), General Motors (LifeSteps) and Caterpillar (Healthy Balance) all adopted this approach to help create recognition and a larger meaning around their efforts. Having a branded program helps staff members and other stakeholders see the larger goals/objectives of the Worksite Health Promotion Program, rather than focusing on isolated offerings.

Say it loud, say it proud – As a potential cost-saving program, Company Health Promotion Programs should be given the same executive backing and internal commitment as any comparable corporation effort. Businesses should not approach wellness as simply a preventive, financially-motivated program, but rather as an opportunity for the corporation to distinguish itself and become more competitive.

Jeffrey Treem, analyst, Edelman Change and Employee Engagement Group, says that effective communication about Company Wellness Programs must be integrated into existing employer communication channels and vehicles. “This comprises executive communication to external stakeholders,” he notes, “because this sends a powerful message back to employees about the priority of the programs. Company Wellness Programs must not be treated as merely an additional employee perk, but rather a progressive and strategic effort to cut costs and create a healthier work environment.” Talk among yourselves – The most powerful champions of any Company Wellness Program will be the participants.

Companies ought to discover ways to facilitate discussions about the program among staff members. This could take the form of support groups, interactive media and the sharing of success stories.

Nonetheless, since Worksite Health Promotion Programs touch on potentially private health topics, it is important communication remains positive and inclusive, while not pressuring employees. Discussion of wellness topics should be voluntary, though employers may consider providing incentives/rewards for those willing to contribute. Motivation and information from peers is likely to carry more credibility and significance than messages from management.

———-

Even in an at-will employment environment, individuals are still guarded from discrimination (including wrongful termination) by virtue of belonging to a protected class. Before implementing a Corporate Wellness Program, companies need to be knowledgeable about the relevant legal restrictions and the potential impacts these measures can have on benefi ts and employee behavior programs.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – Prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

This means that standards and offerings need to be applied equally (or possibly proportionally) to all protected classes. In other words, if a business is offering access to gyms, it must be sure that men and women have equal access to facilities. Businesses must also consider whether a person who may live in areas heavily populated by one race, religion or ethnicity also have access to facilities and programs. The easiest way to address this concern is to provide onsite Employee Health Promotion Programs whenever possible. This not only ensures equal access, but according to Northwestern Memorial’s Krivy, also improves participation.

Organizations must also be aware that particular health topics may disproportionately affect protected classes. Health Risk Assessments and any incentives/rewards put in place may really should be personalized to account for non-lifestyle related differences.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) – Protects men and women who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination. Benefits, incentives/rewards and programs need to be applied equally to men and women. A corporation can’t set a weight goal for men and not for women, even though a corporation can set health parameters by work function. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) – Protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older from discrimination based on age.

Policies not only need to be available to people of all ages, but program goals/objectives, restrictions and rewards and incentives need to be designed with age appropriateness. While older staff members (or retirees and dependents) may inherently pose a higher health risk, their actions should be assessed in terms of demographically appropriate measures.

Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) – Prohibits employment discrimination against qualified people with disabilities in the private sector, and in state and local governments. Similar to other workplace offerings, any Corporate Health Promotion Programs, such as a fitness center or health clinic, would have to make reasonable accommodations for staff members with disabilities.

One area of equivocation is whether very overweight staff members qualify as disabled. The concern is complicated because obesity is caused by several factors (genetics, environment, behavior), some of which may be out of the employee’s control. Generally, for staff members to qualify for disability based on obesity, the condition must signifi cantly impair their physical or mental ability to perform their job. This determination would need to be made by a qualifi ed physician. Although this label may affect the types of incentives/rewards and program requirements offered, it likely would not affect the overall implementation of behavioral-focused initiatives.

Civil Rights Act of 1991 – Provides monetary damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination.

This legislation permits individuals to sue corporations for improper treatment. Compensation can be in the form of actual damages such as lost or expected wages, compensatory damages for a circumstance that causes public embarrassment, or even punitive damages meant to send a message to a business for egregious or habitual violations.

While these laws govern all organization activities, there are even more stringent restrictions with regard to Healthcare topics. Most policies, communications and data collection regarding employee health are governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Under HIPAA companies cannot deny eligibility for benefits or charge a higher premium on the basis of:

• Health status
• Health condition (including both physical and mental sickness)
• Claims experience
• Receipt of healthcare
• Medical history
• Genetic information
• Evidence of insurability (comprises activities such as riding a motorcycle, skiing, snowmobiling and other similar pursuits)
• Disability

Nevertheless, because wellness programs may not include health care treatment or be insurance related, and may instead be confined to behavioral initiatives, HIPAA’s nondiscrimination provisions do not fully apply. To address this, in 2001 the American Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service and the American Department of Health and Human Services jointly issued a proposed regulation to help clarify the lawful provisions of a “bona fi de Wellness Program” in the context of HIPAA’s existing language (See Box p. 14). Although the regulation is not yet final, organizations that comply with the measure will be viewed by the government as making a good-faith effort to avoid discrimination in wellness programs.

Robust Employee Wellness Programs are still relatively new to corporate America and the legal implications of implementation and enforcement are not fully known. By their very nature, these programs potentially expose organizations to discrimination lawsuits, disengaged employees and detrimental public relations. However, organizations that make a good-faith effort to comply with current Healthcare-related laws, find ways to involve employees, and communicate strategically, will be able to minimize these risks while finding plenty of room to develop a creative and effective Employee Wellness Program.

For many businesses, a smoking ban would not even apply to all staff members. That is because currently 30 states and the District of Columbia prevent businesses from banning off-duty smoking.21 In Addition, 13 states prevent businesses from banning alcohol use away from work. Only six states have broad statutes that prevent businesses from prohibiting any lawful behavior. Michigan is the only state that expressly prohibits discrimination on the basis of weight, however the cities of San Francisco and Santa Cruz, Calif., also have this provision (San Francisco makes exceptions for police offi cers, fi refi ghters and the San Francisco 49ers football team). When beginning Corporate Health Promotion Programs, businesses should keep in mind local statutes as well as established common law.

Savings of Voluntary Employee Wellness Program = (number of participants x savings per participant) – (expense of program)
Savings of Incentive-based Corporate Wellness Program = (number of participants x savings per participant) – (cost of program + cost of incentives and rewards)
Savings of Mandatory Worksite Health Promotion Program = (number of participants x savings per participant) – (expense of program + expense of policy-related turnover + expense of limited talent pool)

Constructing Worksite Wellness Program policies in a employer that employs unionized workers can pose unique challenges. Worksite Wellness Programs may be perceived by some unions as a condition of employment and therefore would be subject to collective bargaining between the parties. However this circumstance can represent an opportunity for both groups, as a policy agreed upon between union leadership and management is likely to be received more favorably by workers. The United Auto Staff Members and General Motors worked together to create and position a joint Worksite Wellness Program which has successfully reached more than 800,000 participants. (See Case Studies, UAWGeneral Motors LifeSteps Worksite Wellness Program, p.21).