State legislation to improve employee wellness
Tina Lankford1, Judy Kruger, Deborah Bauer
1Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. tlankford@cdc.gov
American Journal of Health Promotion : AJHP
|March 18, 2009
Summary
Between 2001 and 2006, seven states enacted worksite wellness legislation. Most bills focused on tax credits, wellness programs, and health insurance, with limited success in passing into law.
Area of Science:
- Public Health Policy
- Health Promotion
- Occupational Health
Background:
- Worksite wellness legislation aims to improve employee health and productivity.
- Understanding the landscape of state-level policies is crucial for effective health promotion strategies.
- Previous legislative efforts in this area require comprehensive analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To categorize and describe the content and status of state legislation concerning worksite wellness.
- To identify common themes and legislative outcomes in worksite wellness policies.
- To assess the enactment rates of different types of worksite wellness bills.
Main Methods:
- Compilation of state worksite wellness legislation from CDC and LexisNexis databases (2001-2006).
- Exclusion of resolutions and bills not related to general employee wellness.
- Individual examination, categorization, and analysis of legislation content and status.
Main Results:
- Most common legislative categories included tax credits (34 bills, 0 passed), wellness policies/programs (21 bills, 4 passed), alternative transportation (18 bills, 4 passed), and health insurance (14 bills, 3 passed).
- Overall, 7 out of 27 states enacted worksite wellness bills between 2001 and 2006.
- Enactment rates for successful categories ranged from 19% to 22%.
Conclusions:
- Worksite health promotion legislation passed at a rate comparable to other health promotion topics.
- Despite legislative efforts, specific health standards, like those in Healthy People 2010, were not commonly recommended in the bills.
- Further research is needed to understand barriers and facilitators to the enactment of effective worksite wellness legislation.
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