If you haven’t heard the term before, give it a little time. You will. Mandatory wellness is the concept that your employer has the right to modify your behavior if your lifestyle choices adversely affect their bottom lines by adversely affecting your health. With ever increasing insurance premiums this is a trend that many companies will consider if they have not already.
I’ll skip the obvious problems with this concept in a free society and instead focus on the facts. Your company has the right to ask anything from you that is within the confines of the legal system. The real question is “Are mandatory wellness programs legal?”.
Companies are on a slippery legal slope when it comes to “mandatory” wellness and they realize it. There are a few cases that are in the process of setting precedence regarding what is and is not considered legal (Rodrigues v. The Scotts Co; Anderson v. City of Taylor). These cases show that companies are increasingly finding that employees are reluctant to accept this kind of infringement into personal space and that the courts may not uphold the companies decision to do so. If you find yourself in the position of being forced to accept a mandatory wellness program, an excellent article was composed by hronline.com that will help you to understand the reasons why your company wants this kind of policy and what rights you have as an employee.
In the end, it’s up to you to set the boundaries of what you are willing to accept. Chances are, if you’re serious about not complying with this kind of policy, it is highly likely that your company would rather hear out your concerns than argue them in a court of law. Just make sure that you seek the advice of legal council before you start burning bridges.
Until next time, happy blogging.
Megadisclaimer: Take nothing at face value. Everything on this blog is for entertainment purposes. It won’t change the world, or even your opinion in most cases. If you believe everything that you read stop reading now!