Regular Full-time, Regular Three-Quarter Time Employees
Fitness Reimbursement Program
The Fitness Reimbursement Program (FRP) is a benefit offered to all full and three-quarter part-time employees eligible to participate in the City’s health insurance program. The FRP is intended to encourage employees to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle through physical fitness, reduce the City’s health/medical care costs, reduce absenteeism, and improve employee productivity. Eligible employees may join a qualifying fitness facility of their choice or utilize approved Smart Fitness equipment or technology, with the City providing a quarterly payment for membership fees based on reimbursement amounts established by the City.
Employee Eligibility Requirements
Full-time or three-quarter part-time employees eligible for the City’s health insurance program.
Employee must participate in the City’s annual Health Screen and Health Risk Assessment. If the employee does not complete the annual Health Screen and Health Risk Assessment, the employee will not be eligible for reimbursement for the quarter the screen and assessment is held, and the employee will also be disqualified from reimbursement until the employee completes the screen and assessment the following year. The employee would once again be eligible for reimbursement the quarter following the completed Health Screen and Health Risk Assessment.
Employee must carry the City’s family health insurance in order to qualify for the quarterly family membership reimbursement amount and must provide verification of family membership on a quarterly basis.
Program Requirements
Employee must be a member of a qualifying fitness facility or utilizing approved Smart Fitness equipment or technology.
Fitness Facility is a health, recreational, and social facility geared towards exercise and physical activities. Activities include organized group instructional programs such as spinning classes, yoga, or martial arts, and/or individual fitness opportunities such as cardiovascular training, weight training, and/or swimming. Individual activities may be self-guided or conducted under the supervision of a trainer. Tracked visits at a facility must be electronic and may not be handwritten. See Documentation Requirements for additional information.
Smart Fitness is equipment or technology that is used to track and enhance workouts and connects to the internet. Tracked workouts must be electronic, instructor led, and may not be handwritten. Examples: Smart Fitness Equipment: Peloton, Tonal, or Echelon. Smart Fitness Technology: Apple Fitness+, Samsung Smart Trainer, or Bodi by Beach Body. However, tracking daily steps using a smart watch/app, or using a smart watch/app to track a workout that is not instructor led would not qualify. See Documentation Requirements for additional information.
Combining Fitness Facility workouts and Smart Fitness. An employee may use a combination of workouts from both a facility and smart fitness, however it is the employee’s responsibility to provide the required documentation and workouts displaying the individual workouts. You cannot double-up workouts (smart fitness and facility for the same workout).
Employees are required to provide documentation verifying the minimum of thirty (30) workouts per quarter at a qualifying fitness facility or Smart Fitness equipment or technology usage. It is the employee’s responsibility to ensure that workouts are accurately recorded by the fitness facility or Smart Fitness equipment or technology.
Employee must meet the minimum of thirty (30) workouts per quarter in order to qualify for the reimbursement. An employee may not carry over additional workouts beyond the quarter from one quarter to the next.
A minimum of four (4) hours is required between workouts on a single day, and no more than two (2) workouts per day is allowed. Other fitness facility services such as physical therapy, tanning, massage, etc. will not be counted towards a workout.
In the event an employee is not able to meet the minimum of thirty (30) workouts per quarter due to a medical condition, the City may temporarily and on a case-by-case basis waive or modify this provision. As a condition of this waiver, the employee may be required to obtain verification from a health care professional documenting that they are not to participate in any physical activity due to a bona fide medical condition. An employee must be an active participant in the FRP prior to requesting the waiver.
Employee must complete the Fitness Reimbursement form on SharePoint and upload official attendance documentation provided by the fitness facility or Smart Fitness Equipment by the first Friday following the end of the quarter.
In the event an employee retires from employment with the City during a quarter, the employee is eligible to receive reimbursement for the portion of the quarter they were employed with the City.
In the event an employee separates from employment (other than a retirement) with the City during a quarter, the employee is not eligible for a reimbursement under the FRP.
Documentation Requirements
Attendance documentation must be issued by the fitness facility or Smart Fitness Equipment and clearly show:
Name of the fitness facility/Smart Fitness Equipment
Name of participating employee/member
Dates of participating employee’s attendance for each month of the quarter
Family membership if requesting family reimbursement amount
Attendance documentation must be submitted by the first Friday following the end of the quarter. Reimbursements will not be made for late or incomplete submissions.
The City reserves the right to require additional documentation.
The Fitness Reimbursement Program is a benefit provided by the City and is not required for an employee to perform their job; therefore, this is taxable income paid through payroll. Reimbursements made through the FRP will be included in gross wages on the employee’s annual W-2 statement.
The City reserves the right to periodically audit FRP submissions, which may include verifying information directly with the fitness facility. Any misrepresentation or submission of fraudulent documentation will be considered a violation of City policy and shall be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. Additionally, any misrepresentation or submission of fraudulent documentation will result in the immediate and permanent removal of the employee from the FRP.
Appeal Process
In the eventt an employee's submission for reimbursement under the FRP has been denied, an employee may request an appeal meeting to human resources via email.
All appeals will go to the Human Resources Director for further review.
