Hershey Targeted by Latest Tobacco Penalty Would-Be Class Suit

A former Hershey Co. employee filed a proposed class action accusing the candy maker of wrongly charging tobacco-using workers extra fees for health-care coverage without providing a valid way to avoid the penalties.

Hershey requires smokers on its health plan to pay an extra $100 per month without giving them a legally compliant opportunity to have the charges waived, the employee said in a complaint filed Monday in the US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The company offers a quit-smoking program, but it doesn’t adequately publicize it or explain how workers can be reimbursed for past penalties, ...