Ex-Amgen Worker Files Suit Over Health Plan Tobacco Use Penalty

A former Amgen Inc. employee filed a proposed class action challenging the biotechnology company’s practice of charging employees who smoke an extra $150 per month for health-care coverage.

Amgen penalizes smokers on its health plan without giving them a legally compliant method for avoiding the charges, plaintiff Sanjay Sharma said in a complaint filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Central District of California. The company doesn’t provide an alternative standard workers can satisfy in order to remove the penalties, and its benefit materials include “only the vague promise that tobacco cessation resources are available” without explaining that ...