Fit Business Award
2003/04 Winners
American Apparel
(More than 1,000 employees)
American Apparel takes a holistic approach to the wellness of its employees. The T-shirt manufacturer, located in downtown Los Angeles, employs 1,300 workers, mostly in sewing jobs. The majority of the employees are women, mostly Latina, although there are also a substantial number of Asian employees.
American Apparel provides subsidized healthy lunches to employees, including daily salads and fruit offerings. The firm is building an on-site health and wellness facility, which will provide drop-in health counseling as well as exercise classes to be held before and after business hours and during lunch breaks. A pilot health club membership program is also planned. Nutritional information, translated into Spanish and Asian languages, is available on-site through a collaborative effort with the non-profit Garment Workforce Center.
American Apparel also has a formalized program to extend health benefits at a low premium, and to assist workers in applying for Healthy Families Insurance. Massage therapists visit the worksite to offer massages to seamstresses who are at risk for repetitive motion injuries. American Apparel’s loyalty to its employees has led to a remarkably stable and loyal workforce, with reduced absenteeism and substantially fewer turnovers in comparison to the industry as a whole.
San Mateo County
(More than 1,000 employees)
San Mateo County maintains a diverse workforce of 5,000 employees who have widely varying service mandates typical of a county government. The largest departments are the San Mateo Medical Center and Clinics, the Sheriff’s Office, and the Human Services Agency.
San Mateo County’s Employee Health and Fitness Program (EHFP) coordinates preventive health screenings, health improvement classes, work-life education and recreational events that encourage employees, retirees, and family members to be healthy. Many programs are conducted on county time with supervisors’ approval. Most are offered at no cost to employees and are available to retirees and family members on a space-available basis. The county permits employees to attend a smoking cessation program during working hours, provides tuition reimbursement for Weight Watchers at Work and offers self-directed fitness and nutrition programs that include modest incentives for completion. It also annually solicits health club information and corporate rates as well as provides fitness classes and massage therapy services on a fee-for-service basis. San Mateo County sponsors recreational weekend tournaments for its employees four times a year and sponsors two annual health fairs focusing on health education, benefits information, and local resources.
The County’s “BackWise” Program resulted in health and productivity improvements as well as reductions in the cost and number of work injuries (Public Health Reports: 108:2, 204-211) and the Computer Ergonomics Program documented a reduction in computer-related injuries.
University Health Services, Berkeley
(300 to 999 employees)
University Health Services is an outpatient center for the University of California, Berkeley’s faculty, staff and students, that provides medical care, counseling services, and health education services all under one roof.
By encouraging employees to live active and healthy lives, UC Berkeley’s University Health Services strives to “practice what they preach.” A noon exercise class and a newly instituted evening yoga class serve as models for other departments on campus.
University Health Services encourages its employees to participate in health and fitness programs, including a regular walking group, an online weight management program offered for a minimal fee, and noontime educational programs on topics such as stress management, ergonomics, nutrition and life stage stressors. An employee committee works to reduce worksite injuries and illness by identifying hazards and working with supervisors to eliminate them. An ergonomics program trains employees to become ergonomic evaluators who in turn help other employees set up or improve workstations.
L-3 Communications
(100 to 299 employees)
L-3 Communications, with office in Menlo Park, produces intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems for the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, aerospace contractors, commercial telecommunications, and wireless companies.
L-3 Communications provides a wellness facility on-site for all employees, and has a Wellness Coordinator that implements employee health programs. L-3 maintains a fitness center with cardio and weight training equipment and a separate exercise room for fitness classes. Employees can participate in step aerobics, body sculpting, and relaxation classes, as well as individualized programs in personal training and nutrition. A small employee store sells company branded items, along with discount tickets to local area leisure activities. The Recreation Area consists of Ping-Pong and billiards tables as well as space to eat lunch. Incentive programs are implemented with a theme in a certain aspect of wellness such as better nutrition, exercise, or stress reduction. Prizes are awarded to employees as they reach milestones in the program and individual success is recognized.
Casa Dorinda
(100 to 299 employees)
Casa Dorinda is a full service retirement community in Montecito, California that offers care to approximately 300 residents.
Casa Dorinda hired a health and fitness professional in October 2000 to promote healthy behaviors within its staff. Employees participate in health assessments and health education at an annual Employee Health Fair. Cricked necks are avoided with Casa Dorinda’s Annual Back Health Fair where employees receive instruction on back and neck stretches, strengthening exercises, and lifting techniques specific to job function.
The company offers subsidized gym memberships at three local fitness facilities and encourages regular physical activity with its Casa Dorinda-sponsored softball team that fields members from every department. A regular employee wellness letter and an employee safety team keep employees informed about safety issues on the Casa Dorinda campus, and the committee rewards employees who report workplace safety hazards with $100.
Contra Costa County Schools Insurance Group
(26 to 99 employees)
The Contra Costa County Schools Insurance Group (CCCSIG) is the administrator and manager of the self-funded worker’s comp insurance program for schools in Contra Costa County.
Employees at CCCSIG enjoy a flex schedule as well as fresh fruit and bagels at onsite meetings. CCCSIG hosts monthly brown bag “lunch n’ learn” presentations on topics such as stress management, nutrition, and physical activity.
Employees can use their breaks and lunches to receive one-on-one personal training and nutrition consultations with the onsite Health and Wellness Service Coordinator, or take advantage of CCCSIG’s in-house fitness center. CCCSIG’s Wellness Service Coordinator even holds 15-minute stretching and strengthening classes three to five times a week during break times. Rounding out a solid educational component to their workplace wellness initiatives, CCCSIG provides employees smoking cessation and ergonomics training, as well as classes on healthy aging.
NutriFit, LLC
(25 or fewer employees)
NutriFit is a Los Angeles based food service company that provides nutritious meals to individuals, corporations and other entities that have a need for fresh, prepared food. Additionally, NutriFit developed a nutrition management software program that helps users plan nutritionally correct recipes. The program incorporates individual needs, tastes, and health factors into the meal planning process.
Proving that even the smallest of companies can go the extra step when committing themselves to providing a healthy worksite, NutriFit sponsors and encourages employee participation in the American Heart Walk, AIDS Walk, Making Strides Walk, and other charitable walks.
The company also provides employees access to local gyms, and partners with the gyms to bring their services on site for clients who need physical fitness information or education. NutriFit provides employees with smoking cessation programs, healthy foods, stress management education, and sponsors company athletic teams.
