Barbara J. Zabawa is the founder and president of the Center for Health and Wellness Law, LLC, a law firm dedicated to improving legal access and compliance for the health and wellness industries. She is also lead author of the book, “Rule the Rules on Workplace Wellness Programs,” published by the American Bar Association. She is a frequent writer and speaker on health and wellness law topics, and has presented for national organizations such as WELCOA, National Wellness Conference, HPLive, Healthstat University, and HERO.
Different organizations, states, and local laws have different answers to the question: “what are the smoking rules at work?” For more insights on how to best implement a no tobacco use policy in the workplace, download our Tip Sheet: How to Implement a Tobacco-free Workplace To stay compliant as well […]
Fall 2024 has been a busy time for tobacco surcharge lawsuits. To date, plaintiffs have filed 10 class action lawsuits against employers who imposed a tobacco surcharge through their workplace wellness program. For companies that seek to reduce tobacco use among employees, tobacco surcharges, when implemented successfully, can be an […]
Read More… from 3 Key Takeaways from Recent Tobacco Surcharge Lawsuits
If your company aims to reduce tobacco use among employees, one way it may consider doing this is by charging tobacco users more for their health insurance premiums. Some call this difference in health insurance premium amounts a “premium differential” or a “tobacco use surcharge.” What is a tobacco surcharge? […]
Read More… from What is a Tobacco Surcharge and How Does My Company Offer One?
E-cigarette use can negatively affect indoor air quality and put others at risk for secondhand exposure in workplaces. And more of your employees may be using e-cigarettes in the workplace than you realize. A Truth Initiative survey found 76% of the surveyed e-cigarette users reported having vaped at work. But is it […]
If you use a tobacco surcharge on health insurance, properly Implementing it with a reasonable alternative standard is critical—not just for employees but for your organization as well. Below are essential details about how to properly implement a tobacco surcharges and pitfalls to avoid from active legal developments. Tobacco surcharge […]
If your company has a tobacco use surcharge and an employee who smokes moves without your knowledge to a state that prohibits tobacco surcharges, is your company at risk? It’s a good question. In a recent blog post, I addressed how employers with tobacco use policies can—and can’t—handle enforcing those […]
Read More… from Tobacco Use Surcharge Issues When Remote Employees Secretly Work in Different States
Should a hybrid work or remote workers policy for tobacco use be the same as the policy for on-site workers? Both fully remote and hybrid work options present challenges to adopting, implementing, and enforcing tobacco use policies at work. That’s because most tobacco use policies are tied to the employer-owned […]
Read More… from How to Handle a Hybrid or Remote Workers Policy for Tobacco Use
On Jan. 7, 2021, the EEOC finally released the proposed language revising the wellness incentive rules under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information and Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). This language was what the wellness industry has been waiting for since the EEOC met on the proposed rules […]
