Nonunion retired coal miners are seeking class action status in a federal lawsuit against CONSOL Energy, Inc. and its subsidiaries for allegedly breaking a promise of lifetime health-care benefits.

The suit filed earlier this month seeks class action treatment for about 2,000 nonunion retirees whose benefits were cut or eliminated in 2014 and 2015. The 20-page lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia in Charleston, claims CONSOL “fraudulently misrepresented the terms, eligibility requirements and rights to obligation…” The lawsuit continues that the nonunion employees accepted lower wages and continued their employment at CONSOL upon the promise of lifetime health-care benefits by the company. CONSOL used the lifetime health benefits offer as a way to stop workers from joining the United Miner Workers of America, the lawsuit contends.

The lawsuit is unusual in that it was filed by nonunion employees. Normally, lawsuits are filed by retirees challenging termination of collective bargaining agreements concerning lifetime health benefits. For the last several years, as evident in a number of coal companies bankruptcy filings, the industry has struggled to afford its legacy costs, include health and retirement plans. Thousands of miners have either seen their benefits reduced or eliminated since the bankruptcies.

The “unlawful” benefit termination could affect as many as 12,000 retirees, the lawsuit contends.

The lawsuit states CONSOL “…knowingly and willing distributed inaccurate and non-comprehensive” information and “concealed information” about the retirement plan as to persuade the miners not to join the union.

The suit seeks remedies under the Employee Retirement Income Security At, including CONSOL completely restoring the $2,500 in annual health-care spending fund “to which retirees were entitled in each year after the termination of benefits.”

CONSOL did not respond, as they do not comment on pending litigation.