Bon Secours Mercy Health’s Worker Tobacco Charge Drives New Suit

Hospital network Bon Secours Mercy Health runs an unlawful employee wellness program by penalizing workers who smoke without providing a valid process for having the charges waived, a federal lawsuit alleges.

Bon Secours charges tobacco-using employees an additional $75 to $90 per month for health-care coverage without retroactively reimbursing the penalties paid by workers who later complete a quit-smoking program, current and former employees said in a proposed class complaint. The hospital network also fails to properly publicize its quit-smoking program in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, according to the complaint, which was filed Wednesday in ...