Update on EEOC v. Flambeau Case

Last week the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on the EEOC v. Flambeau case.  Recall that this case was one of three cases brought by the EEOC in 2014 against three different employers.  In the Flambeau case, the EEOC alleged that the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because its wellness program, which included a health risk assessment and biometric screen for employees who participated in the employer’s group health plan, was not voluntary.  Specifically, employees who refused to take the HRA and biometric screen were required to pay 100% of their health insurance premium.

In December 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin decided in favor of Flambeau, concluding that the ADA safe harbor applied to Flambeau’s wellness program.  That safe harbor allows group health plans to conduct medical exams for purposes of underwriting risks or administering risks, so long as those exams are not used as a way to get around the ADA’s other provisions.  Because Flambeau lost at the district court level, it decided to appeal the district court decision to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Seventh Circuit held oral arguments on the Flambeau case on September 15, 2016.  According to one source, the three-judge panel asked surprising questions relating to whether the employee at issue in the case suffered any sort of “injury,” whether financial or emotional.  In US law, in order to bring a lawsuit, a plaintiff must have some type of injury before the courts can intervene.  One judge on the panel said that the Flambeau case appeared to be “much ado about ancient history.”  The court asked both parties to the case to write briefs about the injury issue within 10 days.

Given the Seventh Circuit’s interest in whether there is indeed an injury in the case, it may be possible that the court will dismiss the case on “jurisdictional grounds.”  This means that the Seventh Circuit would not opine on the final ADA rules issued by the EEOC in May and whether the EEOC exceeded its authority in issuing those rules.  Without a court decision on how the final rules affect the Flambeau case, the final rules will continue to stand and take effect starting January 1, 2017.

Please contact the Center for Health and Wellness Law, LLC with any workplace wellness program compliance questions.