Working conditions - Coursework Example

Millions of Americans have put their health on the line due to unhealthy eating habits and neglect for their healthcare needs. With the rising cost of healthcare and insurance coverage that the employers have had to shoulder recently because of the advent of the Obama Health Care Act, some of them have decided to take matters into their own hands and force their employees to become healthy for their own good and the good of the pocketbook of the company. Although their concerns are valid, the reason behind it is not.

Some of them have opted to punish employees who have chosen not to participate in the company wellness programs by having them pay hefty fines. This paper will look into the legality of such actions and if it is a just punishment for an employee who does not wish to participate in the employee wellness programs. Facts and other pertinent data will be presented using various online reputable sources such as newspapers, journals, interviews, and the like. Do You Think an Overweight Employee Who Chooses Not to Participate in a Wellness Program Should be Penalized?

We live in a modern society that provides us with more than ample means of living a healthy lifestyle through the proper nutrition intake, diet, and exercise. However, most people fail to take advantage of these basic opportunities presented to them. The result is a weakened state of health for the individual. As such, the individual ends up requiring much more healthcare than his insurance program can provide. Added to this 3 problem is the fact that the new health care laws of the United States has made it more difficult and expensive for the employers to keep their employees covered with ample medical insurance benefits.

The continued rising cost of healthcare coverage has thus forced some employers to take the health matters of their employees in their own hands by forcing them to participate in a company mandated healthcare program or face severe penalties for non-participation. Their intention is clear, to keep their health care costs down, but at the expense of sticking their noses in where it does not belong, in the private lives of their employees. Their participate or pay fines choice disrespects the freedom of an individual to choose how he lives his life and how he participates in various activities.

It would appear that an increasing number of companies are opting for such health care rider coverage for their employees. As many as; “almost half (47%) of companies already use or plan to use financial penalties over the next three to five years on workers who don’t take part in health-improvement programs.” (Bilski, 2010). With 81 percent of the companies punishing the non participants by; (Bilski, 2010) increasing deductibles (17%), and increasing out-of-pocket expenses (17%). However, just because the companies choose to implement such punishments does not make it right.

Admittedly, these acts of forced healthcare participation are legal (Goldberg, 2012). The reason is simple, those who choose to keep themselves healthy by living properly and participating in healthcare programs should not be made to carry 4 the burden of coverage for his or her co-workers who cannot be bothered or do not care about their health. But, there is something that got lost in legal translation here. Companies are allowed to encourage employees to participate in wellness programs to a certain extent only.

The rules as outlined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission dictates that (“Is My Company's Wellness Program Legal?”); “. an employer may conduct medical examinations and activities that are part of a voluntary wellness and health screening program. Therefore, offering employees the opportunity to voluntarily participate in health screening