All Articles Tagged "employee rights"
CVS Implements New Policy Requiring Employees to Disclose Their Weight or Pay $600 Annual Fee
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CVS employees who are a part of the company’s health insurance plan will soon be required to either reveal their weight on pay a monthly penalty of $50, reports CNBC.
The newly implemented regulation is a part of a new health and wellness program, which will also require employees to show up for an annual WebMD Wellness Review, in addition to undergoing blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass and body weight testing.
“Going forward, you’ll be expected not just to know your numbers – but also to take action to manage them,” the policy reads.
As to be expected, many are opposed to the new regulations, as they are considered to be intrusive and forceful.
“This is about as coercive and blunt as I’ve ever seen,” expressed Patient Privacy Rights founder, Deborah C. Peel.
“Many employers want to do something for their workers, but very few of them are stupid enough to say give us the information and sign this form and say it’s voluntary,” she continued.
Peel went on to say that privacy is an issue with this policy and that if CVS and WebMD are unable to keep this information private as they’ve promised to, it could deter people from getting proper health screenings.
The company will also be turning up the heat on employees who are smokers.
”You must either be tobacco-free by May 1, 2014, or participate in the WebMD tobacco cessation program.”
In a statement issued yesterday afternoon, the company insisted that the regulation is being implemented to help employees improve their health.
“We want to help our employees to be as healthy as they can be, which is why we decided to implement this plan. In fact, we have been working for a number of years on ways they can improve their health through preventive measures. Healthcare programs that incent employees to be healthier are not new. Many companies around the country already have plans similar to the one we are implementing…”
What are your thoughts on this?
Homewood Salesman Sacked Over Packers Tie Doing Well in New Gig
(Chicago Sun Times) — Just about eight months ago, John Stone learned firsthand just how intense NFL rivalries can get — he was sacked from his job as a car salesman for wearing a Green Bay Packers tie to work smack dab in the heart of Bears country. What a difference an offseason can make. Shortly after the 35-year-old Stone lost his job at an Oak Lawn car dealership, he got a chance as a salesman at Chevrolet of Homewood, 18033 S. Halsted St. Since then he’s brought in customers from as far away as Milwaukee. And four times he’s been named salesman of the month — an honor that goes to the associate who sells the most cars in a month.
Lockout Worries Push NBA Players to Play Offense
(AP) — The NBA players’ association filed an unfair labor charge against the league Tuesday with the National Labor Relations Board, a move it hopes could block a lockout it feels owners want. The union says the NBA hasn’t bargained in good faith, has made financial demands without offering concessions to the players, and has bypassed the union to deal directly with players. The charge filed with Region 2 of the NLRB seeks “an injunction against the NBA’s unlawful bargaining practices and its unlawful lockout threat.” The NBA and players are trying to reach a deal for a new collective bargaining agreement before the June 30 expiration of the current one. They plan to meet early next month during theNBA finals, but remain far apart on major financial issues and a work stoppage remains a possibility.
Union Gives Target the Wal-Mart Treatment
(New York Times) — In the world of big-box discounters, Target enjoys a reputation as a model corporate citizen that sells the latest in cheap chic. That’s a sharp contrast to the image of Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, which labor unions have pilloried for years, accusing it of providing skimpy wages and benefits and skirting various labor laws. But the arrows are about to come flying at Target’s famous bull’s-eye logo. The nation’s largest union for retail workers has embarked on its first broad campaign to unionize Target workers. The union, the United Food and Commercial Workers, is trying to organize 5,000 workers at 27 Target stores in the New York City area. A majority of workers at the Target store in Valley Stream, N.Y., have already signed cards supporting unionization, and a government-supervised election there on June 17 will be the first time in more than two decades that Target workers will vote on whether to join a union. “A lot of people are going to be shocked that Target workers would consider unionizing because of its very good image and because it’s known as such a fantastic philanthropic organization,” said Burt Flickinger, a retailing consultant who has worked on projects for both the union and Target suppliers.
