A federal lawmaker is asking the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate employer wellness programs that seek intimate health information from employees, and to issue guidelines preventing employers from using such programs to discriminate against workers.

The request, by Representative Louise M. Slaughter, Democrat of New York and a staunch advocate for health privacy rights, came a few days after Pennsylvania State University suspended part of its new employee wellness program that had drawn objections from faculty members.

“What happened at Penn State was appalling to me,” Ms. Slaughter said in an interview on Tuesday, referring to the university’s requiring employees to pay a monthly surcharge of $100 if they did not fill out detailed health risk questionnaires.

Called Take Care of Your Health, the Penn State program initially required employees, including faculty and staff members, to fill out the questionnaires — which asked about workplace stress, marital problems and women’s pregnancy plans — or pay the surcharge. After faculty members complained that the program seemed coercive and invaded their privacy, the university suspended the penalty.