Retired miners may get to keep promised health care benefits
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals last week dismissed an appeal by CONSOL Energy that sought to overturn a federal judge’s decision requiring CONSOL to continue paying for health care benefits to some 3,400 retired miners – members of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) – their dependents and widows.
Judge David A. Faber of the Federal Court for Southern West Virginia in Bluefield issued a decision on March 17, 2017 that found CONSOL was attempting to violate a collective bargaining agreement requirement to pay for lifetime health care benefits for retirees. CONSOL had unilaterally sought to stop paying the contractually-required benefits and instead replace them with a plan to fund health savings accounts for five years with no promise of lifetime benefits.