The Department of Labor has brought a lawsuit against Macy's Inc. and subsidiaries of Anthem and Cigna over what it says is mismanagement of the tobacco cessation program in Macy's employee wellness plan.
Pension & Benefits Daily reports that in the suit, Acosta v. Macy's Inc., S.D. Ohio, No. 1:17-cv-00541, the DOL alleges that Macy's tobacco cessation program hasn't met the regulatory requirements to be a nondiscriminatory wellness program under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act since 2011.
The suit says that the program failed to provide a reasonable alternative standard to avoid a surcharge that ranged from $35–$45 for individuals who couldn't meet the program's standards. Also, since 2011, participants who joined the tobacco cessation program were still obliged to fork over a surcharge ranging from $35–$45 per month, with the money deposited into Macy's welfare benefits plan trust and used to pay medical claims and plan expenses.
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
