III 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 405 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
SEPTEMBER 27 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 
Received 
OCTOBER 2 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the first full week of April as ‘‘National 
Workplace Wellness Week’’. 
Whereas comprehensive, culturally sensitive health promotion 
within the workplace is essential to maintain and improve 
United States workers’ health, as a significant part of a 
working citizen’s day is spent at work; 
Whereas employees who improve their health reduce their 
probability of chronic health conditions, lower their out- 
of-pocket 
medical 
and 
pharmaceutical 
costs, 
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reduce pain and suffering, have greater levels of energy 
and vitality, and experience increased satisfaction with 
their lives and jobs; 
Whereas health care costs in the United States doubled from 
1990 to 2001 and are expected to double again by 2012; 
Whereas employee health benefits are the fastest growing 
labor cost component for employers, and pose a serious 
and growing challenge for U.S. business competitiveness; 
Whereas business leaders are struggling to find strategies to 
help reduce the direct costs of employer-provided health 
care as well as the indirect costs associated with higher 
rates of absenteeism, presenteeism, disability, and injury; 
Whereas an effective strategy to address the primary driver 
of soaring health care costs requires an investment in 
prevention; 
Whereas some employers who invest in health promotion and 
disease prevention have achieved rates of return on in-
vestment ranging from $3 to $15 for each dollar in-
vested, as well as an average 28-percent reduction in sick 
leave absenteeism, an average 26-percent reduction in 
health care costs, and an average 30-percent reduction in 
workers’ compensation and disability management claims 
costs; 
Whereas the Healthy People 2010 national objectives for the 
United States include the workplace health related goal 
that at least three-quarters of United States employers, 
regardless of size, voluntarily will offer a 5-element com-
prehensive employee health promotion program that in-
cludes— 
(1) health education and programming, which fo-
cuses on skill development and lifestyle behavior change 
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along with information dissemination and awareness 
building, preferably tailored to employees’ interests and 
needs; 
(2) supportive social and physical environments, in-
cluding an organization’s expectations regarding healthy 
behaviors, and implementation of policies that promote 
health and reduce risk of disease; 
(3) integration of the worksite program into the or-
ganization’s structure; 
(4) linkage to related programs like employee assist-
ance programs (EAPs) and programs to help employees 
balance work and family; and 
(5) screening programs, ideally linked to medical 
care to ensure follow up and appropriate treatment as 
necessary; 
Whereas employers should be encouraged to invest in the 
health of employees by implementing comprehensive 
worksite health promotion programs that will help 
achieve our national Healthy People 2010 objectives; 
Whereas business leaders that have made a healthy workforce 
a part of their core business strategy should be encour-
aged to share information and resources to educate their 
peers on the issue of employee health management 
through initiatives such as the Leading by Example 
CEO-to-CEO Roundtable on Workforce Health and the 
United States Workplace Wellness Alliance; 
Whereas employers that provide health care coverage for 
more than 177,000,000 United States citizens have the 
potential to exert transformative leadership on this issue 
by increasing the number, quality, and types of health 
promotion programs and policies at worksites across the 
Nation; 
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Whereas for workplace wellness efforts to reach their full po-
tential, CEOs of major corporations, company presidents 
of small enterprises, and State Governors should be en-
couraged to make worksite health promotion a priority; 
and 
Whereas Congress supports the National Worksite Health 
Promotion goal as stated in Healthy People 2010 and en-
courages public employers to increase their awareness of 
the value of corporate investments in employee health 
management during the first full week of April each year: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress— 
(1) supports the goals and ideals of a National 
Workplace Wellness Week and calls on private and 
public employers to voluntarily implement worksite 
health promotion programs to help maximize em-
ployees health, well-being, and lower health care 
costs; and 
(2) requests that the President issue a procla-
mation calling upon the people of the United States 
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and interested organizations to observe such a week 
with appropriate ceremonies and activities. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 26, 
2008. 
Attest: 
LORRAINE C. MILLER, 
Clerk. 
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