Posted on 05/14/2005 8:42:05 AM PDT by SheLion
Firing Smokers - Reading Beyond the Headlines
Trend: You smoke? You're fired!
May 11, 2005
By Stephanie Armour
More companies are taking action against employees who smoke off-duty, and, in an extreme trend that some call troubling, some are now firing or banning the hiring of workers who light up even on their own time.
The outright bans raise new questions about how far companies can go in regulating workers' behavior when they are off the clock. The crackdown is coming in part as a way to curb soaring health care costs, but critics say companies are violating workers' privacy rights. The zero-tolerance policies are coming as more companies adopt smoke-free workplaces.
•Weyco, a medical benefits provider based in Okemos, Mich., this year banned employees from smoking on their own time. Employees must submit to random tests that detect if someone has smoked. They must also agree to searches of briefcases, purses or other belongings if company officials suspect tobacco or other banned substances have been brought on-site. Those who smoke may be suspended or fired.
About 20 employees have quit smoking under the policy, and a handful were fired after they opted out of the testing. "The main goal is to elevate the health status of our employees," says Gary Climes, chief financial officer.
•At Investors Property Management in Seattle, smokers are not hired. Employees who smoked before the ban was passed about two years ago are not fired; however, they can't get medical insurance through the company.
•Alaska Airlines has a no-smoking policy for employees, and new hires must submit to a urine test to prove they're tobacco-free.
"The debate has gone from where they can smoke to whether they can smoke," says Marshall Tanick, a Minneapolis-based employment lawyer.
Such bans are not legal everywhere: More than 20 states have passed laws that bar companies from discriminating against workers for lifestyle decisions.
There are other ways that companies are taking action against off-duty smoking, such as raising health care premiums for smokers.
Employers say it's about creating a healthy workforce. But it's also a bottom-line issue: Tobacco causes more than 440,000 deaths annually and results in more than $75 billion in direct medical costs a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Some smokers' rights groups are vowing legal action.
"These matters will be decided in the courts," says Redmond, Wash.-based Norman Kjono, with Forces, a smokers' rights group. "You're creating a class of unemployable citizens. It won't stand."
And legal experts fear companies will try to control other aspects of employees' off-duty lifestyle, a trend that is already happening. Some companies are firing, suspending or charging higher insurance premiums to workers who are overweight, have high cholesterol or participate in risky activities.
No one is losing any rights here because no one has a right to a job with a particular employer.
I agree that this is a stupid policy but it seems the only way anyone can suggest to stem this tide is for laws to make this illegal - well guess what? Making this type of practice illegal takes away the rights of the business owner to make stupid policies and business decisions.
Don't work for such companies and don't do business with them - that is the way to get this stuff to stop - not through more government regulations.
I have an entirely different attitude when it comes to government employment. No government that demands taxes to support itself has any right to deny employment to an otherwise qualified employee based on legal activities outside of working hours.
The next time the employer tries to fire people for legal off-the-clock activity, the employees ought to get together and organize a strike. That would be publicity that the employer definitely would not want.
Did you start telling them to "f*** off"? :)
No, I just started lighting up. Pretty soon I'll be telling them to "f*** off."
No, I just started lighting up. Pretty soon I'll be telling them to "f*** off."
Oops. Sorry for the double post.
Now that's funny.
They'd get shut down and prosecuted for hate crimes.
Employer : This is a fart detector. It detects the time and exact area of a fart. Since my employees are required to have implantable GPS Verichips, I will find out who farted. Farting on the job will result in immediate dismissal. [Hears a fart. Then he looks at the fart detector monitor] Johnson, you're fired.
Johnson : You're a fucking fag. [Alarms sound. The doors and windows lock.]
Employer : You know the drill. [Johnson assumes the "you're under arrest" position. The door unlocks, and 10 cops in riot gear bust in and get on top of Johnson. Even though Johnson shows no resistance, the cops beat him with nightsticks and zap him with tasers. A minute later, they cuff Johnson and drag him out violently.]
Other employees : SIEG HEIL!
As usual...you're right.
Soon it will be illegal to sell fast food and junk food to anyone under 18...and when they make 21 the legal smoking age, they will make 21 the legal junk/fast food age. And soon fast food outlets will have signs that say "THE VERICHIP IS THE ONLY VALID ID ACCEPTED HERE."
Time for the Weyco sheep to organize a strike until Big Brother Weyco agrees to drop the "fired for smoking even at home" rule.
"monitoring them as well"? What's he gonna do? Make them get Verichips or GPS ankle bracelets?
And pretty soon Arkansas will start requiring schools to require summer school for and/or holding back (aka failing) students whose BMIs are above the acceptable levels.
(Teacher : Sorry Charlie, but your BMI is above the acceptable level. I'm afriad you'll have to repeat the 4th grade.)
Employer : Johnson, I see you have an iPod in your locker. I'm afraid OSHA regulations require me to fire you.
Johnson : You...
Employer : Remember what happened last time?
Johnson : Yeah.
Employer : I CAN'T HEAR YOU!
Johnson : Yes, sir.
Employer : And what did you call me that day?
Johnson : I called you a "fag". [Alarms sound. 10 cops bust through the door and tackle Johnson to the ground. After a few hits from the nightsticks and a few zaps from the tasers, Johnson is handcuffed. Since this was Johnson's 3rd hate speech offense, he is sentenced to life without parole for violating the nation's "3 strikes" law.]
And don't forget the sign on McTacoBees front door and at the order line that says "VERICHIP REQUIRED FOR ENTRANCE AND ALL TRANSACTIONS".
I'm sure states will make it a felony to sell a cheeseburger to anyone under 18 (later 21), and mere possession of a cheeseburger on school property will result in automatic expulsion. Employees caught in mere possession of a cheeseburger in the workplace (going out for lunch will probably be banned so employers can monitor their employees at all times, even on lunch break) will result in automatic dismissal.
Don't forget cheeseburger avoidance school and victim impact panels.
How much do ILLEGAL ALIENS cost the health system in this country?
I think the biggest cost is ILLEGAL ALIENS.
1. They don't pay their bills (as well as some Americans).
2. Health care providers have to charge legitimate patients more to absorb the costs.
3. So, insurance companies raise their premiums.
4. Government subsidizes public hospitals with increasingly higher taxes, yet they are still insolvent.
Also there are other factors... The insurance agents (as well as medical malpractice lawyers, pharmaceutical reps, and doctors) need a new Mercedes every year, so they don't cover dental either (which is essential to good health, not to mention part of the human anatomy).
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