Inspire Brands Sued Over Tobacco Penalty in Worker Health Plan

Inspire Brands Inc. mismanages its health-care plan by charging penalties to workers who smoke without providing an avenue for having the fees retroactively refunded, three current and former employees said in a proposed class complaint.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, challenges Inspire’s practice of charging annual fees ranging between $390 and $780 to tobacco-using employees enrolled in its health plan. Workers can avoid the penalties on a forward-looking basis by completing a smoking cessation program, but there’s no way to receive retroactive reimbursement of penalties that have already been ...