During the last week of August, the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services (the “Departments”) issued FAQs Part 74, addressing HIPAA nondiscrimination and wellness program rules. 

In the FAQs, the Departments confirmed that sponsors of group health plans have considerable flexibility in crafting wellness programs and should not be penalized for

****UPDATE:  These proposed regulations were not published in the Federal Register before President Biden’s inauguration.  In accordance with the Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies, issued by Chief of Staff Ronald A. Klain, the proposed regulations have been withdrawn for review by the Biden administration.****

On January 7th,

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Judge Bates) has denied AARP’s request to block the implementation of the EEOC’s final wellness regulations pending a decision on the merits. As we have discussed previously, the regulations address the extent to which an employer may offer incentives to participate in a wellness program without violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).  The final rules have taken effect as of January 1, 2017.