O’Reilly Automotive Judge Orders New Complaint Over Smoker Fee

A former O’Reilly Automotive Inc. worker challenging the company’s practice of charging tobacco-using employees extra fees for health coverage must file an amended complaint to keep his proposed class action alive.

The worker’s complaint doesn’t include sufficient facts showing that O’Reilly mismanaged its employee wellness plan, Judge Stephen R. Bough said. His four-page order, issued Monday in the US District Court for the Western District of Missouri, denied O’Reilly’s motion to have the case dismissed while ordering plaintiff John Hatfield to file an amended complaint by June 8.

• Hatfield’s lawsuit accuses the automotive part supplier of charging smokers an ...