INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Some factory workers are in danger of losing their jobs after being accused of lying about their tobacco use.

Thirty-nine employees at a Whirlpool refrigerator plant in Evansville, Indiana, signed insurance paperwork claiming they were
tobacco-free. Now, they've been suspended after being seen smoking or chewing tobacco on company property. For now, they're still
being paid.

A company spokeswoman says some of the workers could be fired.

Tobacco-using workers at the Whirlpool factory are charged an extra $500 in annual health insurance premiums.

The employees have the chance to present their case at "fact-finding" meetings before management determines their fate.

A survey done last year by the human resources consulting firm Mercer reveals that 16 percent of big employers adjusted healthcare
premiums according to the worker's smoking status.

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