Wellness Program Incentives

For many corporations, a smoking ban would not even apply to all staff members. That is because currently 30 states and the District of Columbia prevent corporations from banning off-duty smoking.21 In Addition, 13 states prevent corporations from banning alcohol use away from work. Only six states have broad statutes that prevent corporations 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 designing Worksite Health Promotion Programs, corporations must keep in mind local statutes as well as established common law.

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

Constructing Employee Health Promotion Program policies in a business that employs unionized workers can pose unique challenges. Employee Health Promotion Programs may be perceived by some unions as a condition of employment and therefore would be subject to collective bargaining between the parties. Nonetheless 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 Employees and General Motors worked together to create and position a joint Employee Health Promotion Program which has successfully reached more than 800,000 participants. (See Case Studies, UAWGeneral Motors LifeSteps Employee Health Promotion Program, p.21).