On December 19, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a new fact sheet, Wearables in the Workplace: Using Wearable Technologies Under Federal Employment Discrimination Laws (the “fact sheet”), which addresses how federal employment discrimination law apply to the collection and use of information from wearable devices by employers. The fact sheet defines wearable devices and identifies ways in which the federal equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, may apply to an employer’s use of wearable devices when used to obtain health-related information.
This alert is specific to the fact sheet’s guidance related to the use of wearable devices in connection with employer-provided wellness programs and is relevant for employers using or considering the use of wearable technology in connection with their wellness programs. The fact sheet’s other guidance related to the use of wearable devices for employment and/or other workplace purposes and its labor & employment issues is generally outside the scope of this alert.
