Bass Pro Employees Get Court Nod for $5 Million Smoker Fee Pact

Bass Pro Group LLC’s $4.95 million class settlement with tobacco-using workers received initial court approval, paving the way toward resolution of claims they each were wrongly charged an extra $2,080 per year for health coverage.

The proposed deal would provide about 5,500 current and former employees of the company, which does business as Bass Pro Shops, with average net payments of more than $580, according to the workers’ settlement motion. It represents about 35% of the tobacco penalties deducted from their wages between April 2018 and October 2024, they said.

Judge M. Douglas Harpool of the US District Court ...