Bally’s Workers Seek First Appellate Win Over Smoker Penalties

Bally’s Management Group LLC workers challenging the tobacco penalty in their health plan called on the First Circuit to tamp down on employee wellness programs that are cash grabs in disguise.

The proposed class action accuses the gambling and entertainment company of wrongly charging tobacco-using workers an extra $780 per year for health coverage without providing a legally compliant method for having the penalties waived. A Massachusetts federal judge dismissed the case last year, saying federal law doesn’t require employers to retroactively reimburse the tobacco penalties paid by workers who later complete a quit-smoking program.

The workers asked the US ...