Penn State Employees Protest New Wellness Program

Reuters reports that Penn State employees are protesting the university's 2014 wellness requirements. More than 2,000 faculty and staff employees at Penn State argue that it is coercive and unethical, and have asked that it be stopped. Matthew Woessner, associate professor of political science at Pennsylvania State University, who doesn't smoke, spends an hour every day on the elliptical trainer and eats (mostly) healthy food, has written an open letter and started a change.org petition.

Penn State has given its covered employees and spouses until October to comply with two key requirements of the new "Take Care of Your Health" wellness program: complete an online wellness profile from WebMD and undergo a preventive physical, including tests of cholesterol and glucose levels, and measurements of height, weight, and waist circumference. Employees who fail to do both will have $100 per month deducted from their paycheck. Studies show this $1,200 annual penalty is one of the most severe to be imposed by a U.S. employer, only 2 percent of which use fines alone, rather than rewards, to push staff to undergo medical testing, provide data on their health and otherwise participate in wellness programs.