Whirlpool Plant Suspends 39 Employees Caught Smoking
A Whirlpool Corp. plant in southern Indiana has suspended 39 workers, claiming the employees were in fact smokers even though they claimed on their health insurance that they had kicked the habit.
Whirlpool requires its employees who smoke to pay $500 more in insurance premiums, the Evansville Courier & Press reports.
The company based the suspensions on witness accounts that the employees were seen smoking in designated areas outside the plant since signing insurance enrollment forms last fall. The production workers aren’t the only ones at risk for suspensions.
Whirlpool tells the Courier & Press that more suspensions are likely and that administrative staff may be next.
The paper reports that the suspensions are part of a dispute Whirlpool has had with employees who smoke. The dispute over whether Whirlpool should reimburse employees for the insurance surcharges landed in federal court was but was voluntarily dismissed in March.
Additional Coverage:
Chicago Tribune: “Lies about smoking burn workers”
