Four questions to test your wellness compliance—One of 3 things you need to know this week in employee benefits

How well do you understand wellness? Quiz yourself with four key compliance questions

According to Optum Inc., more than 40% of employers offer employees financial incentives for improving their heath through wellness programs—quitting smoking, losing weight and the like. Plus, nearly half levy financial penalties for not participating in wellness efforts.

Whether your company is using carrots, sticks or both to encourage wellness engagement, state and federal laws govern how far you can push employees to participate. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), for example, limit employers’ use of incentives and penalties.

A recent post on WGA InsureBlog goes into detail on wellness compliance provisions, and lets employers test their knowledge with a four-question quiz. How well do you know wellness?

Massachusetts becomes latest state to approve domestic violence leave

Earlier this month, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed a law requiring all employers with more than 50 employees to allow employees affected by domestic violence to take up to 15 days of leave during any 12-month period. Leave may be paid or unpaid at the employer’s discretion.  

According to a brief from Fisher & Phillips, employees qualify for domestic violence leave if: 

• The employee, or a family member of the employee, is a victim of abusive behavior.
• The leave is used to obtain medical attention or counseling, secure housing, attend court proceedings and/or obtain other victims’ services related to domestic violence.  

It’s important to note, the Massachusetts law applies only to domestic violence victims; employees who are abuse perpetrators do not qualify for the state-approved leave.

With the law, Massachusetts joins about a dozen states plus the District of Columbia that have domestic violence leave laws on the books. Nationwide, domestic violence victims also may be able to take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

This week’s hidden gem: 3 tips to inspire employees to immunize

August is National Immunization Awareness Month. Although the month is nearly over, it’s never too late to encourage employees to get preventive care—particularly scheduled immunizations. In this month’s Workforce, I offer three tips to give employers ammunition for immunization.