The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's apparent campaign against certain types of corporate wellness programs is getting push-back from the business community.

The commission has been filing complaints and lawsuits over any sort of pressure exerted to induce employees to participate in wellness testing, from tobacco screenings to biometric and body mass testing. Its latest action cites Honeywell for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act because Honeywell intends to exact a financial penalty from those employees and their covered spouses who don't participate next year.  

The commission seeks a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to put the brakes on Honeywell's program, which will require employees and spouses covered by the company health plan to undergo biometric testing as part of the company's wellness program. Among the tests and screenings: blood pressure, HDL and total cholesterol, non-fasting glucose, body mass index, waist circumference and tobacco use. Penalties for non-participants could be as much as $4,000, the EEOC said. That constitutes a coercive situation that violates GINA and the ADA, according to the commission.