Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
News
January 14, 2016 01:00 AM

Judge rules in Flambeau's favor in EEOC case

Shelby Livingston
Business Insurance
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    A recent federal court ruling holding that a plastic manufacturer's policy of requiring employees to partake in its wellness program to be eligible for group health coverage does not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act could give employers more “comfort” and understanding of the rules surrounding wellness program design, legal experts say.

    U.S. District Court Judge Barbara B. Crabb in Madison, Wis., ruled Dec. 30 in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Flambeau Inc. that the employer's practice of requiring employees to take a health risk assessment and biometric screening to be eligible for the group health plan was protected under the ADA's safe harbor provision.

    The EEOC originally filed its lawsuit against Baraboo, Wis.-based blow molder and injection molder Flambeau in October 2014 after a Flambeau employee's health insurance was canceled when he failed to fulfill the wellness program requirements.

    The EEOC argued that Flambeau's policy violated federal law because the ADA generally prohibits employers from making “disability-related inquiries and medical examinations that were not job-related and consistent with business necessity,” according to an EEOC statement in October 2014.

    But Crabb ruled in favor of Flambeau's claim, saying in her opinion that its practice fits within the law's safe harbor, which permits such medical inquiries when part of “the terms of a bona fide benefit plan that are based on underwriting risks, classifying risks, or administering such risks.”

    The ruling is the second safe harbor win for a wellness program. The other case, Seff v. Broward County, Florida, was ruled on by the U.S. District Court in Miami in April 2011 and affirmed by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta in August 2012.

    Flambeau did not respond to requests for comment.

    Beginning of a trend?

    The District Court's ruling in favor of Flambeau is “a big deal to the extent that we're starting to see a trend,” said James Napoli, Washington-based partner at law firm Seyfarth Shaw L.L.P.

    Though it's a small trend, “as a sports fan whenever you see your team win two in a row, you are encouraged that they are going to continue that winning streak. That's how you'd look at it here,” Napoli said.

    At the same time, the ruling technically only applies to the geographic area of the U.S. District Court in Madison, so employers elsewhere could still be sued and lose.

    “Other courts would certainly look to (Seff) and now this case as precedent. That being said, one circuit isn't necessarily bound by another circuit's rulings,” Napoli said.

    But despite it not yet being an “ironclad defense nationwide,” Frank C. Morris Jr., head of Epstein Becker & Green P.C.'s labor and employment practice in Washington, said he is advising employers to “seriously consider making the wellness program part of the health insurance plan” in light of the two rulings.

    Evidence is needed, he said, to show the wellness program is used to administer the health plan.

    “What this [decision] does is it provides a greater level of comfort to an employer who has a plan that, if it meets the requirements of the safe harbor, then you have a higher degree of comfort with being able to utilize the safe harbor if you were challenged,” said Kathryn Wilber, senior counsel of health policy with the American Benefits Council in Washington.

    “When you have courts in two different circuits address this and they're doing it in similar ways … there's more support for how to interpret this provision,” she said.

    She added that the EEOC's proposed wellness guidelines released in April did not directly address how the ADA's safe harbor does not apply to medical examinations as part of a wellness programs, as the EEOC argued. So the EEOC could likely revisit and adjust the proposed rules, she said.

    As for the District Court's decision, “most assume the EEOC is going to appeal,” Wilber said.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Sonoco packaging unit expanding in Michigan
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Biden sets US goal to replace 90% of plastics with biomaterials
    2
    Polymer Points Live March 2023: Commodity resin prices rising, but engineering resins see drops
    3
    Ad panels say ABA overstated PET bottle recycling efforts
    4
    Boston buys sole ownership of General Polymers
    5
    Film maker Inteplast sees green in green
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified