The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission(EEOC) is cracking down on employers who encourage,require, or incentivize their employees to provide private healthinformation as a requirement for participation in theemployer-sponsored wellness program. The EEOC's mission is to keepemployers from having access to information that may lead to biaswhen it comes to hiring decisions (e.g., hiring, firing,promotions, or raises).

Most often, these numbers come from biometric screenings, healthassessments, or onsite screenings that are required or encouragedthrough the hired wellness program. Employers,in conjunction with the wellness program, may use these numbers todivide the employee population into risk categories—or simply todetermine whether an employee has reached a specific goal (oftenrewarded with a financial incentive). With the current EEOC rulesin place, how are employers supposed to gauge progress if they'redon't have access to employees' baseline health information?

Answer: Administer a strategically designed wellness programthat motivates employees withoutcollecting sensitive genetic information or health records. It'snot only a more effective way to engage employees, it's also thebest way for a wellness program (and the employer) to stay in theEEOC's good graces. Why spend valuable time and money trying todetermine whether your program is compliant, when it's possible tomaintain engagement without poking for personal information? Don'tthrow in the towel just because your access to baseline healthmeasures are limited. Here's how EEOC-approved wellness vendorsmake these “restrictions” work to their advantage.

Establish trust

Establishing trust between an employer and employees isimperative to creating an effective wellness program. The lessemployees feel as if “Big Brother is watching,” the better. Helpthem see that the intention behind the wellness program is to helpthem lead a happier, healthier life.

Value improvements over outcomes. Over-stressing of outcomesdata and ROI takes away from the value of daily progress. Ofcourse, baseline health data is useful in many ways, givingemployees a way to track improvement, follow overall performance ofthe program, or justifying the cost of employee wellnessprogramming. Collecting this information is approved by the EEOC,as long as it's voluntary. Significant changes in biometrics orreduced claims costs won't happen in the first year of implementinga wellness program.

Instead of focusing on outcomes, focus on advances made overtime by engaging employees in sustainable health-habit improvement.There are a number of ways to measure the value of a wellnessprogram: boosted retention and recruitment prospects, improvedmorale, more productive people, better office culture, increasedjob satisfaction, and better focus. Regardless of EEOC regulationsor employees' medical histories, keeping the focus on progressallows worksite wellness to thrive.

Don't bundle employees into risk categories based on theirnumbers. The general prescription is the same for everyone. Whetheryou're an avid marathon runner or a sideline sitter looking tochange, the path to a health is the same: small, sustainableimprovements that'll build up to huge changes over time.

People with specific or chronic conditions will require anindividualized approach; that's where wellness stops and diseasemanagement begins. Disease management requires a more in-depth lookat an individual's health (which the employer shouldn't need accessto) — usually alongside a doctor or nurse who has access to theirrecords.

The easiest way to stay EEOC-compliant is to work with awellness program that doesn't require the collection of healthrecords or genetic information to be successful. By turning thefocus toward steady improvement instead of annual changes inbiometric numbers, the wellness program is able to thrive in anEEOC-approved environment.