Former 7-Eleven Worker Sues Over Health Plan’s Tobacco Charge

A former 7-Eleven Inc. employee filed a proposed class action saying the convenience store chain wrongly charges higher health insurance premiums to workers who smoke without giving them a valid way to avoid the penalty.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, takes aim at 7-Eleven’s alleged practice of charging workers who smoke an additional $720 each year for health insurance. The company doesn’t provide a valid alternative standard for having the penalty removed, because it doesn’t allow all workers who complete a tobacco cessation program to be fully reimbursed for ...