Employers have raced to offer workers a hefty financial incentive to sign up for programs meant to improve their health, submitting personal medical details in the process. But as these programs have spread, so has resistance from employees dubious about sharing that information with employers.

On Monday, that tension erupted in a federal lawsuit against the government agency that handles the rules on these so-called wellness programs. It is the first major legal challenge of the regulations, and will add fuel to one of the hottest debates in health care.

The suit, filed by AARP, the consumer advocacy group that represents older Americans, argues that the programs violate anti-discrimination laws aimed at protecting workers’ medical information. It also questions whether the programs are truly voluntary when the price of not participating can be high.

The target of the suit is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency responsible for issuing the rules governing what employers can do. When the agency issued new rules on the programs in May, it said employers could set the incentive as high as 30 percent of the annual cost of a worker’s health insurance coverage.