The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is movingforward with guidelines for corporate wellness plans that coverrequests for family medical history in exchange for planincentives.

EEOC has been mulling such plan incentives to ensure that planparticipants aren’t unduly punished or rewarded for parting withsuch sensitive information. The agency wants to developpolicies that bring wellness plan incentives (and penalties) inline with the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.

Its latest strategy for allowing wellness plan managers togather genetic/medical data without running afoul of GINA wasreleased Friday in its proposal to amend GINA’s application towellness plans.

The proposed rules are designed to address certain exceptions toGINA’s data gathering restrictions, exceptions that employers andplan designers say allows them to request such information forwellness plan participants.

“Title II of GINA protects job applicants, current and formeremployees, labor union members and apprentices, and trainees fromemployment discrimination based on their genetic information,” theagency said in a release announcing the proposed rules. “Itprohibits employers covered by the law from using geneticinformation in making decisions about employment. It also restrictsemployers from requesting, requiring, or purchasing geneticinformation, unless one or more of six narrow exceptionsapplies.”

Among the exceptions the new rules address are instances wherean employee “voluntarily accepts health or genetic services offeredby an employer, including such services offered as part of awellness program.” The proposed rules state:

The total incentive for an employee and spouse to participate ina wellness program that is part of a group health plan and collectsinformation about current or past health status may not exceed 30percent of the total cost of the plan in which the employee and anydependents are enrolled.

The maximum portion of an incentive that may be offered to anemployee alone may not exceed 30 percent of the total costof self-only coverage.

“EEOC believes that the approach adopted in this rule harmonizesthe two titles of GINA, which both regulate employer wellnessprograms that are part of group health plans, as a coherent whole,”the agency release said. “At the same time, EEOC is mindful thatthis change creates an exception to the general rule that noincentives may be provided for an employee’s genetic information.Therefore, the agency has interpreted the exception as narrowly aspossible.”

EEOC will accept comments on the proposed amendments for 60 andthen will vote on a final rule.