Jump to full article: Evansville (IN) Courier & Press, 2008-03-13
Author: Kate Braser
Intro: A dispute stemming from an arbitrator's decision requiring Whirlpool Corp. to reimburse insurance surcharges to employees who smoke has been voluntarily dismissed by both parties, with prejudice, in federal court.
The terms of the agreement are sealed, and attorneys involved in the case declined to comment. . . .
The complaint was filed by Whirlpool Corp. against Local 808 in October. The company asked a federal judge to overrule an arbitrator's decision forcing the company to refund health insurance surcharges to employees who smoke.
The company required its smoking employees to pay higher health insurance premiums during the past decade. The surcharges amounted to $750,000.
The issue began in 1996 during contract negotiations between the company and its union, after the company proposed adding an annual $300 health insurance surcharge for employees who smoke.
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