Employee Wellness Newsletter : Workplace Wellness Program Local Considerations

For many companies, a smoking ban would not even apply to all workers. That is because currently 30 states and the District of Columbia prevent companies from banning off-duty smoking.21 Additionally, 13 states prevent companies from banning alcohol use away from work. Only six states have broad statutes that prevent companies 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 creating Workplace Health Promotion Programs, companies ought to 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) – (cost of program)
Savings of Incentive-based Company Wellness Program = (number of participants x savings per participant) – (expense of program + expense of incentives and rewards)
Savings of Mandatory Corporate Health Promotion Program = (number of participants x savings per participant) – (cost of program + cost of policy-related turnover + cost of limited talent pool)

Constructing Corporate Health Promotion Program policies in a business that employs unionized employees can pose unique challenges. Corporate 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. Still this postion 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 employees. The United Auto Workers and General Motors worked together to create and position a joint Corporate Health Promotion Program which has successfully reached more than 800,000 participants. (See Case Studies, UAWGeneral Motors LifeSteps Corporate Health Promotion Program, p.21).