Law firm wants to challenge health care costs, asks Lockheed Martin workers to join suit

Fairmark Partners is investigating the possibility of filing a class-action lawsuit against aerospace giant Lockheed Martin over its handling of employee benefit contributions. The New York City law firm is soliciting input from current and former employees – some of whom are helping with an investigation – on the TopClassActions website.

“If you did not fully understand the costs and increases in your Lockheed Martin plan when you signed up, don’t know how Lockheed Martin uses the funds it collects for premiums, feel you are not getting what you pay for and see your raise negatively impacted by the increased cost of your health-care premium, you may want to join this lawsuit investigation,” according to the post.

The law firm cited rising costs as a reason for considering the class-action suit.

“Dramatic increases in health-care and prescription drug costs are eating up much of the nation’s paychecks,” the post said. “Lockheed Martin and other large corporations pass those increases on to their employees, charging their workers about $1 trillion a year nationally, according to numerous studies. And it’s getting worse. It is expected that 2024 will see the biggest health-care cost jump in decades.”

Fairmark Partners is asking employees or retirees if they fully understood their benefits at the time of enrollment.

“Increases in health-care costs and benefits are passed on to employees in the form of higher premiums, higher deductibles and reduced percentages of covered care,” the post said. “Some employees of Lockheed Martin may feel they don’t know enough about what they are buying and how the money is handled by the corporation.”

Health policy consultant Chris Deacon of VerSan Consulting supports the potential legal action.

“As we watch cases like this and others unfold, it’s essential to recognize the broader implications of such legal actions,” she said. “They are not just about individual cases, and they are not just about setting precedent that could have far-reaching effects on health-care policy and practice. They are most promising in their ability to motivate (scare) employers and businesses across the country to finally wake up and begin acting like rational purchasers of health care rather than frightened hostages.”

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Lockheed Martin has faced legal action over employee benefits before. In 2015, the company agreed to pay $62 million to settle a lawsuit over claims it had shortchanged 120,000 workers and retirees who had participated in its pension plans. The beneficiaries accused the company of subjecting them to excessive management fees and leaving those who invested in the company stock fund with returns that were worse than if they had purchased shares on the open market.

In 2020, Lockheed Martin agreed to pay $115,000 and provide other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. And in 2022, the company agreed to make payments to class members into the retirement plans for current employees and issue checks to those no longer employed with the company. The plaintiffs paid more than $20 million in legal fees.