Performance Food Gets Nod for $4.7 Million Smoker Penalty Deal

Performance Food Group Inc. received preliminary approval for a $4.7 million settlement with tobacco-using employees who said they were wrongly charged penalties for health-care coverage without being given a valid way to avoid the charges.

The deal, which is slated to benefit about 18,500 people who paid tobacco penalties since September 2018, represents about 27% of the case’s potential damages. Judge David J. Novak granted preliminary approval to the deal and scheduled an April 22, 2026, final approval hearing in an order issued Thursday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

• Performance is accused of ...