WASHINGTON – The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) today filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in Mehlberg v. Compass Group USA, Inc. The brief urges the Court to review a lower court’s decision certifying a class action challenging an employer’s tobacco wellness program.
“Congress gave employers the tools to help workers quit smoking and live longer, healthier lives – these lawsuits would turn that policy on its head,” said Doug Hinson, Executive Director of the ERIC Legal Center. “If courts certify these sweeping class actions, employers will face enormous pressure to settle meritless claims, and workers and their families could see higher premiums and fewer benefits. We are asking the court to step in and get this right.”
Wellness programs allow employers to encourage healthier choices to improve workers’ long-term health and lower costs for everyone in the plan. Congress specifically authorized these programs, which operate by applying premium surcharges to tobacco users, first under HIPAA and later under the Affordable Care Act. Yet more than 75 nearly identical class action lawsuits have now been filed across the country seeking to penalize employers for utilizing them, with new cases filed nearly every week. Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, killing more than one in five Americans each year and driving over $200 billion in annual health care spending.
ERIC was joined by the American Benefits Council on the brief. You can read the submitted amicus brief here.