Providing incentives for employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine continues to be on the minds of organizations as vaccinations pick up speed. However, concerns about privacy and the shifting positions on wellness program regulation has left many employers wary about implementing more robust incentives. According to Bloomberg, two GOP members of Congress are urging the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to provide some clarity.

Employer-sponsored wellness programs come in many forms, such as:

  • An education campaign to inform employees about healthier eating habits.
  • A gym membership subsidy.
  • A health risk questionnaire to help employees be more informed about their health risks.
  • A walking program designed to decrease sedentary lifestyles.
  • Making health coaches available for engagement on general wellness and/or chronic health issues.
  • Satisfaction of key health-related measures – heart rate, cholesterol level, body mass index (BMI).

Such programs are often tied to group health plans and the incentives for satisfying program requirements come in the form of cash payments, reduced contributions toward premiums, points that can later be redeemed, and other creative arrangements. A key compliance challenge for many of these programs is the size of the incentive – the underlying issue being whether the size of the incentive causes a loss of voluntariness. Programs that are part of group health plans generally are subject to regulations issued under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), although other rules including those referred to below may apply. The ACA/HIPAA regulations are relatively clear on incentive limits and are not what GOP members of Congress and business leaders have expressed concerns about.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, disability-related inquiries of employees generally must be job-related and consistent with business necessity, unless made in connection with a voluntary wellness program. It is that exception, specifically whether the program is voluntary, that is causing much of the concern about vaccination incentive programs. We outlined a brief history of the EEOC’s position on voluntariness here.

Depending on the design of a COVID-19 vaccination incentive program, disability-related inquiries may be involved, raising the question about voluntariness. Is a $50 gift card too much, what about $500, will that render the program involuntary? How about 2 days off with pay? It is worth noting that, according to the EEOC,

“[s]imply requesting proof of receipt of a COVID-19 vaccination is not likely to elicit information about a disability and, therefore, is not a disability-related inquiry.” 

On January 7, 2021, the EEOC proposed a new approach that might wind up providing employers some certainty, but those regulations have been withdrawn following a regulatory freeze issued by the White House on January 20, 2021. Under those proposed rules, however, incentives are permitted under such programs provided they are de minimis.

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) observed to the EEOC in a letter obtained by Bloomberg, looking for a response by April 20, 2021:

“Employers actively working to protect their employees by increasing the number of workers receiving vaccinations through incentive programs are seeking assurance this action is allowable and does not violate important labor laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other statutes within the jurisdiction of the EEOC”

Additionally, the data privacy, confidentiality, security, and record retention of the information needed to administer such programs also raises compliance issues under federal and state law. This includes the confidentiality rule under the ADA, the HIPAA privacy and security regulations for programs that are part of group health plans, OSHA record retention requirements, and state reasonable safeguard and breach notification requirements.

Many organizations have moved forward offering a variety of incentive programs to spur employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The level of legal risk, if any, for those programs is a function of several factors – does the program include a disability-related inquiry, how large is the incentive, is the program part of a group health plan, how is the program administered and enforced, and how is the privacy and security of the data maintained.

It remains to be seen whether the EEOC will provide greater clarity on the voluntariness of incentives for COVID-19 vaccination programs. In the meantime, employers will need to think carefully about the design and implementation of their programs.

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Photo of Joseph J. Lazzarotti Joseph J. Lazzarotti

Joseph J. Lazzarotti is a principal in the Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He founded and currently co-leads the firm’s Privacy, Data and Cybersecurity practice group, edits the firm’s Privacy Blog, and is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP)…

Joseph J. Lazzarotti is a principal in the Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He founded and currently co-leads the firm’s Privacy, Data and Cybersecurity practice group, edits the firm’s Privacy Blog, and is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) with the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Trained as an employee benefits lawyer, focused on compliance, Joe also is a member of the firm’s Employee Benefits practice group.

In short, his practice focuses on the matrix of laws governing the privacy, security, and management of data, as well as the impact and regulation of social media. He also counsels companies on compliance, fiduciary, taxation, and administrative matters with respect to employee benefit plans.

Privacy and cybersecurity experience – Joe counsels multinational, national and regional companies in all industries on the broad array of laws, regulations, best practices, and preventive safeguards. The following are examples of areas of focus in his practice:

  • Advising health care providers, business associates, and group health plan sponsors concerning HIPAA/HITECH compliance, including risk assessments, policies and procedures, incident response plan development, vendor assessment and management programs, and training.
  • Coached hundreds of companies through the investigation, remediation, notification, and overall response to data breaches of all kinds – PHI, PII, payment card, etc.
  • Helping organizations address questions about the application, implementation, and overall compliance with European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and, in particular, its implications in the U.S., together with preparing for the California Consumer Privacy Act.
  • Working with organizations to develop and implement video, audio, and data-driven monitoring and surveillance programs. For instance, in the transportation and related industries, Joe has worked with numerous clients on fleet management programs involving the use of telematics, dash-cams, event data recorders (EDR), and related technologies. He also has advised many clients in the use of biometrics including with regard to consent, data security, and retention issues under BIPA and other laws.
  • Assisting clients with growing state data security mandates to safeguard personal information, including steering clients through detailed risk assessments and converting those assessments into practical “best practice” risk management solutions, including written information security programs (WISPs). Related work includes compliance advice concerning FTC Act, Regulation S-P, GLBA, and New York Reg. 500.
  • Advising clients about best practices for electronic communications, including in social media, as well as when communicating under a “bring your own device” (BYOD) or “company owned personally enabled device” (COPE) environment.
  • Conducting various levels of privacy and data security training for executives and employees
  • Supports organizations through mergers, acquisitions, and reorganizations with regard to the handling of employee and customer data, and the safeguarding of that data during the transaction.
  • Representing organizations in matters involving inquiries into privacy and data security compliance before federal and state agencies including the HHS Office of Civil Rights, Federal Trade Commission, and various state Attorneys General.

Benefits counseling experience – Joe’s work in the benefits counseling area covers many areas of employee benefits law. Below are some examples of that work:

  • As part of the Firm’s Health Care Reform Team, he advises employers and plan sponsors regarding the establishment, administration and operation of fully insured and self-funded health and welfare plans to comply with ERISA, IRC, ACA/PPACA, HIPAA, COBRA, ADA, GINA, and other related laws.
  • Guiding clients through the selection of plan service providers, along with negotiating service agreements with vendors to address plan compliance and operations, while leveraging data security experience to ensure plan data is safeguarded.
  • Counsels plan sponsors on day-to-day compliance and administrative issues affecting plans.
  • Assists in the design and drafting of benefit plan documents, including severance and fringe benefit plans.
  • Advises plan sponsors concerning employee benefit plan operation, administration and correcting errors in operation.

Joe speaks and writes regularly on current employee benefits and data privacy and cybersecurity topics and his work has been published in leading business and legal journals and media outlets, such as The Washington Post, Inside Counsel, Bloomberg, The National Law Journal, Financial Times, Business Insurance, HR Magazine and NPR, as well as the ABA Journal, The American Lawyer, Law360, Bender’s Labor and Employment Bulletin, the Australian Privacy Law Bulletin and the Privacy, and Data Security Law Journal.

Joe served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Laura Denvir Stith on the Missouri Court of Appeals.