Patrick Industries Employees File Suit Over Smoking Penalties

Patrick Industries Inc. was hit with a proposed class action claiming it mismanages an employee wellness plan that charges extra fees to workers who smoke.

The recreational vehicle component maker requires tobacco-using employees to pay an extra $850 per year for health-care coverage without providing a valid pathway for avoiding the charges, three employees alleged in a complaint filed May 1 in the US District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. Patrick told workers these penalties would be removed only “once you quit,” which flouts federal rules requiring an alternative pathway for avoiding the charges without quitting smoking, according ...