Posted on 07/05/2007 8:55:27 AM PDT by COUNTrecount
WASHINGTON (AFP) - An office worker for the US city of Detroit is suing for her colleagues to be banned from wearing perfume which gives her such severe headaches, nausea and coughing fits that she must leave work.
Court documents showed Thursday that Susan McBride suffered so acutely from allergy to the chemicals in scents, lotions and sprays that she had to go home sick when a heavily perfumed co-worker shared her office at the city's historic districts department.
Her sensitivity is such that she avoids the detergent sections in shops and cannot sit near perfumed people in a movie theater or on the bus.
The co-worker refused to leave off the perfume, according to the complaint filed at the district court in Detroit, in the northern state of Michigan. McBride needed medical treatment and was off work for some time.
Now she is seeking a jury trial to make the city force fellow employees to come to work un-scented, citing disability discrimination laws. She is claiming unspecified damages for "pain, suffering, humiliation and outrage" suffered.
McBride and her manager have already asked the city authorities that employ her to enforce a "no scent policy as an accommodation to her disability, without success," the complaint said.
This has been going on for years. Decades.
“WASHINGTON (AFP) - An office worker for the US city of Detroit...”
I guess that in Washington, they don’t know where Detroit is.
Like the “female” burqa I heard Laurie Dhue say the other night. Like there’s a male burqa???
24hrs. is a lot to fill.
Have the city issue the person who is allergic a Breathing Mask which will stop all Oders from entering her Nose.
She is the one with the Disorder.
Does anyone wonder why Detroit is dying like an AIDS patient?
I have been saying for years that this was coming. First they came for the smokers....then for the wearers of fragrance...and next I believe they will go after those who eat meat. That is, if you are a meat eater, you may not eat it on your employer’s property.
Both would be covered by the PWD act. Then just let them fight it out until they both quit.
Problem solved.
Cierra sends me packing. Sure ain’t no love potent. Best, N
Don’t forget the peanut allergy crowd.
Children are sent away to daycare and public schools where parents can’t protect them from that allergy.
Hence bans on peanut butter in those type settings.
The article’s from (AFP) Agence France-Presse, which is French. Which explains it. Being French, that is.
Yea, but peanut allergies are sometimes fatal. Allergies to smells? Not so much I think.....
I’m with this woman.
I suffer allergies and have had the same reaction to certain fragrances. It can make you feel like you’ve got the flue. Sure, you can take pills, but they’re not always effective, and they have side effects.
And we all know that many people apply to much of these products— either because they don’t bathe or because of some psychological problem that makes them think they stink. Often thee people are obese, so there is more surface area to transfer the chemicals to the air.
Perhaps she’s going after the wrong people, or for the wrong reasons. Perhaps the office lacks adequate ventilation. Perhaps the perfume makers should be named in the suit. Perhaps individual offenders should be named.
Go ahead and flame if you want, but I say personal rights stop at my nostrils.
Allergies to scents can be fatal. There are all types of allergic reaction up to and including toxic shock and respiratory failure.
Furthermore, many allergic reactions get more severe with each subsequent occurrence.
Blaming this woman for her allergy is like blaming someone for their cancer - those that are suggesting she is “the problem” should all be ashamed of yourselves.
I think there must be a better way but with government schools and all those children packed in what choices do we have when it comes to worrying about “peanut butter?”
Peanut butter gives the controllers a foot in the door to ban other things.
I think it makes one wonder about the alternative where parents can protect their children from peanut butter allergies and anything else that might harm them in a public school.
I must be talking about homeschooling.
It seems a lot of people don’t understand allergies. Even on TV, people with allergies are portrayed as wussies or hypocondriacs. It’s ridiculous. I’ve even had friends (now ex-friends) who gave me a hard time about my allergies, like I have a choice!
I don’t understand why people wear perfume. I could see wearing it for a date, to appeal to a member of the opposite sex. But why wear it at work? If I came across someone wearing perfume, I would assume they stink and are trying to cover it up, LOL!
They usually stay away after that.
Plant a sandblasting hood on her head and feed it with an outside air source.
She can either live with the inconvience, maintain production, or go find somewhere else to work.
This is indeed dibiliating. My Mom had this problem for a few years. However, we lived in a small town where her employer (City School System) made allowances, and her co-workers were nice enough to help her.
She could get violently ill from only a few moments of someone’s strong perfume. Migraines would put her to bed for a couple of days. She took the 50mg Benadryl tablets when they were still prescription. Knocked her out so she could deal with it.
This ain’t like second-hand smoking, where people just get mad because they don’t like the smell, and it’s popular to gripe about it. This is a genuine allergic reaction, and these people cannot even think about going places where there are strong fragrances.
Fortunately for my Mom, the doctors were able to help her out by treating some of her other allergies, and the fragrance reaction got less easy to trigger, but it still can be trouble.
If this woman just jumped to a lawsuit, I’m against her. But it sounds like they just wouldn’t work with her.
The business owner is the only one who should be making the decision about whether or not to ban perfume (or smoking for that matter) in his or her business. At least, that is the way it should be if our society were truly free.
Don't like it? You are free to quit and seek employment at a "perfume-free" business, or start your own.
Now, if you were the business owner, or worked from your home, and the neighbor's perfume was so overpowering that you could smell it in your office, the I agree; Their rights do stop at your nostrils.
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