Promoting, protecting, and researching the optimal use of incentives, rewards, and related promotions in business.

Incentive Legislation Campaign

The Incentive Federation supports national health care reform and measures that can lead to a healthier work force. As a result, it supports a tax incentive for employers and employees who participate in wellness programs, namely, a qualified wellness award of up to $400 in the form of tangible personal property (not cash or a cash equivalent) for each eligible employee who participates in a qualified wellness program that would be nontaxable to the employee and deductible by the employer.

In order to motivate employees to participate in a wellness program, employers are best served when they offer incentives to join the program and recognition and awards when employees reach significant plateaus and meet goals or targets. A well-designed wellness program also requires an assessment of the general health and well-being of employees to provide baseline information at the start of a program for purposes of measuring its relative success. Incentives, awards, and recognition would provide employees a compelling reason to enroll in employer wellness programs. Incentives and recognition awards would be most beneficial if they also conferred a tax benefit. Qualified wellness awards would thus motivate employees to participate in an employer’s wellness program by giving them an incentive for doing so. Studies have shown that such awards and incentives have a long and proven track record of influencing good employee behavior and would be a powerful tool in ensuring the success of wellness programs. Therefore, the Incentive Federation believes that a well-designed qualified wellness award that is tax-free to employees would provide the necessary incentive to promote a healthier lifestyle among employees and lead to a more productive work force for American business.

Click on the links below to learn more about the Federation's efforts regarding qualified wellness awards: