Atrium employees sue over health and retirement benefits

A group of former employees filed a federal class action suit against Atrium Health, accusing the healthcare system of trying to swindle them over health and retirement benefits. The Charlotte Observer reports that Atrium, formerly Carolinas HealthCare System, claimed to be an arm of the government to get out of benefits commitments. Specifically, the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, known as ERISA, provides protections such as requiring employers to set aside minimum amounts to cover pensions. According to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, there are two issues at play in the suit: whether the healthcare system has adequately funded and protected employee pensions, and whether providing healthcare benefits to employees through a company it jointly owned allowed it to charge significantly more than alternate networks.