The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, warning of “significant disruptive consequences,” urged a Washington federal judge not to toss out the agency's disputed workplace wellness rules as companies set in place their health insurance plans for 2018.

In a dispute with the AARP in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the EEOC argued this week in court filings that the wellness rules should not be vacated before allowing the agency to revisit and revise them. The agency said it would be unable to complete its review by the end of the year.

Last month, U.S. District Judge John Bates sided with the AARP in its lawsuit challenging the EEOC's workplace wellness rules. The regulations allow employers to incentivize or penalize employees for programs targeted at improving employees' health and therefore lowering companies' insurance costs. Bates did not vacate the rules; instead, he sent them back to the EEOC for a second look.