Apple Sued Over Health Plan Penalty for Tobacco-Using Employees

An Apple Inc. employee filed a proposed class action claiming the tech giant charges tobacco-using employees an extra $50 per month for health-care coverage without providing a valid way to escape the charges.

Apple allows employees seeking to avoid the sanction to enroll in a quit-smoking program, but it sets “rigid timing requirements” for completing the program and doesn’t provide full reimbursement for penalties previously paid, according to the lawsuit. This violates the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s rules governing wellness programs, plaintiff Mickey Stithem said in a complaint filed April 17 in the US District Court for the Northern ...