Despite a long period of uncertainty, Greenbrier Hotel employees will not experience an interruption in their health insurance coverage, according to a statement released by the Greenbrier Hotel on Thursday.
Health insurance coverage for hundreds of resort employees was originally scheduled to end on TuesdayAt the public auction of the Greenbrier Hotel, owned by Governor Jim Justice,who is running a Republican campaign for the Senate – Was averted Last week, however, the end date was extended until Saturday.
The termination of reporting was first reported last week, when hotel employees received letters from attorneys representing the Amalgamated National Health Fund saying the Greenbrier Hotel Corporation was four months behind on its contributions to the health fund. The company owed about $2.4 million in past-due contributions, and another $1.2 million was due soon, the letter said. The company, the letter added, had been taking money from employees’ paychecks for health insurance without remitting it to the health fund.
In Thursday’s statement – which was first published by MetroNews – representatives of The Greenbrier denied that there had ever been any delinquency or non-payment of contributions.
“Employee contributions withheld from employees’ paychecks were always paid to the health fund on time, and not once was a single cent of those contributions used for any purpose other than to fund The Greenbrier’s employee health insurance,” the resort’s statement said.
Representatives for The Greenbrier did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Ronald Richman, an attorney with the firm Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP who represents the Amalgamated National Health Fund, confirmed to West Virginia Watch in an email on Monday that the Greenbrier Hotel Corporation is still four months behind on its contributions to the fund.
Richman could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Justice said during a press conference last week: also rejected that there had been defaults on payments to the health insurance company.
“And I promise the good Lord that the insurance payments have been and will be made regularly, as we have in many ways in the past,” Justice said.
On Thursday, Justice reiterated his denial in response to a question from MetroNews’ Brad McElhinny, who had now been granted access to the weekly press conference after weeks of denial.
He said the allegations that money had been taken from employees and not paid into the health fund were “so false as to be unacceptable”.
“The worst [part] “I don’t see it that way from my perspective, Brad, I don’t have to put up with this crap,” Justice said. “The problem is that it’s the employees’ concerns. They’re good people…”
Peter Bostic, chairman of the Greenbrier Council of Labor Unions, said in an emailed statement Thursday that the unions were “pleased and relieved” that a “settlement agreement” had been reached between the health insurance company and The Greenbrier. Details of the agreement were not publicly disclosed.
“We hope that The Greenbrier will continue to honor all of its commitments and contractual obligations so that our members do not have to endure any uncertainty in the future,” Bostic wrote. “The hard work and dedication of our members is what makes The Greenbrier the destination it is known for.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comments from Gov. Jim Justice’s weekly government briefing.
