A hotel corporation owned by Republicans reportedly owes $1.2 million for employee health insurance.
The Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, has become “severely delinquent” to its health insurer, a letter from the Greenbrier Council of Labor Unions said.
The council also said the hotel, owned by West Virginia Governor Jim Justice’s family, never gave back their employees’ contributions to their health insurance that are routinely taken from their paychecks.
The Amalgamated National Health Fund said the Greenbrier was behind four months on contributions, totaling roughly $2.4 million. Another $1.2 million is due soon.
“The Greenbrier’s delinquency has put our members’ health care benefits in severe jeopardy and is morally and legally wrong,” the letter from the Council of Labor Unions said. “Our members have met their obligation by working hard every day and paying their portion to the Greenbrier. The Greenbrier has neglected its obligation to its employees.”
If the Greenbrier does not fix the issue, it could face legal consequences over the lost health insurance.
“If Greenbrier doesn’t seek a resolution soon, it could be more of a question of when not if when it comes to legal challenges,” Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek.
“The claim being made is Greenbrier has fallen into delinquency in payments to their health insurance provider, and this could cause major problems for the employees and the care they currently receive. More importantly, the union is taking aim at the fact that despite falling behind in payments, the company continues to take a portion out of each employee’s paycheck for health coverage.”
That’s not the only indication of trouble ahead for the Greenbrier, however. Recent ads showed that the historic hotel might be going up for auction this month.
In July, the Justice Companies learned from JP Morgan that the hotel’s $142 million loan had been sold to Beltway Capital, which deemed it to be in default.
Newsweek reached out to Justice and the Greenbrier for comment via email.
On Monday, lawyers representing the Greenbrier filed for a preliminary injunction to stop the forced auction.
The Greenbrier is majority owned by Justice’s children, Jay and Jill Justice.
If the auction does take place, it’s set for August 27, when all delinquent funds must be paid to the Health Fund.
In Monday’s filing, the Greenbrier’s owners say the 2014 deed of trust isn’t valid because it was signed by Jim Justice instead of Jay and Jill Justice, who have the majority ownership of the hotel. They also claim the auction would violate verbal agreements between JP Morgan and Jay Justice.
“Defendants seek a hastily arranged sale of a unique piece of real property that is owned by Plaintiffs and contributes significantly to the economy of Greenbrier County. Defendants attempt foreclosure on the Deed of Trust notwithstanding that they lack the legal authority to do so,” the lawyers for the Justice family wrote in the filing.
The owners also brought up concerns over how the local economy would be impacted by the job losses at the Greenbrier.
“The threatened sale would irreparably harm Plaintiffs,” the lawyers wrote. “The Greenbrier’s reputation and business will suffer. Local jobs will be lost. And the foundation of Greenbrier County’s economy will suffer damage that will be difficult or impossible to repair.”
During peak season, the Greenbrier employs roughly 2,000 people. The hotel also faced bankruptcy before the Justices purchased the property in 2009.
For the employees who now find themselves without health insurance, the lost money they contributed is especially worrisome, Beene said.
“It becomes a question of now just if an employee will lose insurance, but where exactly is that portion of their paycheck going?” Beene said. “In past situations involving these issues, legal action is normally swift and can result in severe repercussions. Greenbrier will have to find some middle ground with employees if it wants to avoid this escalating further and major consequences coming to light.”
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