Walmart Workers Sue Over Health Plan’s Tobacco Use Penalty (1)

Walmart Inc. is facing a new lawsuit by employees who say the retailer’s practice of charging higher health insurance premiums to workers who smoke doesn’t comply with federal legal requirements.

Walmart charges the smokers in its health plan extra fees ranging between $30 and $195 per pay period without giving them a reasonable alternative for avoiding the penalty, two employees said in a proposed class action complaint. Workers can have the penalty removed on a forward-looking basis by completing a smoking cessation program, but federal law requires that the company provide a way to have the penalty removed retroactively ...