Posted on 11/28/2008 3:50:26 PM PST by Oyarsa
DETROIT—A federal judge says a Detroit city employee can proceed with a civil suit claiming she couldn't work because of a co-worker's strong perfume. The Detroit News says U.S. District Judge Lawrence Zatkoff determined Susan McBride has a potential claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The city is asking to have the suit dismissed.
McBride says she's severely sensitive to perfumes and other cosmetics. She says the perfume worn by a co-worker in the city's Planning Department made it difficult for her to breathe.
She says the co-worker also used a plugged in room deodorizer.
The suit says the co-worker later agreed to stop using the room deodorizer but kept using perfume.
(Excerpt) Read more at denverpost.com ...
Rights for me but not for thee.
Don’t tell me that I can’t wear perfume but I’ll propose firing someone for lying on their application because they didn’t like a fragrance allergy they may not have known they had.
Do you have a right to hit me and injure me? Would you not get charged with assault?
Then tell me how your intentionally doing something that you know is harming someone any different?
No, it's no just a rights issue. It's a major health issue for many.
So you have a right to live how you want but nobody else does? Why do your rights get to trump others? What makes you so special that you feel that you should have your own way but nobody else can?
About those people I would wish these kinds of problems on just so they can see what it's like. You can be at the top of the list; followed closely by the others with your callous attitude.
I come home smelling like diesel a lot.My wife can’t stand it.I tell her,”Now you know how I feel when some women think they have to bathe in perfume.”We had a rather unattractive woman[putting it mildly]at work who always came to work reeking with perfume that it would make your eyes water.On top of that her voice was as irritating as a screeching chalkboard.
You are correct, it is a personal rights issue. I have the personal right to be able to work with out getting migraine headaches.
The company has exactly 4 choices
1) Move her.
2) Move me.
3) Tell/ force her not to wear the perfume
4) Get sued for not choosing one of the above
Ask yourself this. Lets say it was another sense that was being "offended" ie. music played so loud that one of more people could not work, or someone flashing a strobe light that caused another employee to have an epileptic seizure.
The company must intervene.
Seriously ask the HR lawyer where you work.
What if you are in court?
That statement reminds me of an old Bloom County comic strip where Opus the penguin said "Women who wear tons of makeup look ungodly"He had a mob of big fat women with clown like make up screaming "Off with his head!"That was a stab at the Rushdie/Ayatollah incident at the time.
Fess up, guys. Isn’t a woman who wears just a teasing amount of perfume one of the hottest women on Earth? First it is there, then it isn’t? You keep moving around the meeting room to pick up the scent again?
Tell the perfume bather what really makes perfume attractive and maybe they’ll modify their behavior.
But I'll take it a step further. While the offending triggers bring on a painful and expen$ive migraine for me, it's not a condition unto death. My cousin's sister-in-law, however, launches into an asthma attack. Some of those attacks have landed her in the ER fighting for her next breath. She did end up having to quit her job. Fortunately, she's got a husband who makes a handsome living, so a job is not an absolute necessity for her. Some of us are not so fortunate. We are our sole source of income. That said, if our personal right to breathe air that doesn't make us sick is so offensive to you, please consider paying me a salary to stay home and out of everyone's way. Or if you can't afford that, maybe you'll consider paying for my prescription.
I’m fortunate. I don’t get migraines from fragrances, just bad headaches. And my husband has been very supportive of me removing fragrances from our lives - in fact, now they make him sensitive too. I have found a good brand of shampoo I can use (hope I can find it when we move) and I no longer have to be in an office environment at all.
But there’s a lot of people who aren’t so fortunate. And I hate that just going to church can leave me feeling sick for hours.
You know, most people aren’t sensitive to the scent - it is the carier agent (cheap chemical scent amplifier used in most perfumes).
I understand. Working is not optional for me, but it got to the point where attending church had to become optional because I had to be healthy enough to be at work the next day. I was at church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night and other nights as well for choir practice, intercessory prayer, etc. It was very painful to have to forego the fellowship, but I had no choice.
Roots. Want some?
My mother called bathing in perfume instead of taking a real bath, “a whores bath.”
Funny that they would only bathe AFTER sex. Yuck!
Common Name:METHYL BENZOATECAS Number:93-58-3DOT Number:UN 2938-————————————————————————————————————HAZARD SUMMARY* Methyl Benzoate can affect you when breathed in.* Contact can cause skin and eye irritation.* Breathing Methyl Benzoate can irritate the nose and throatcausing coughing and wheezing.* Methyl Benzoate may cause a skin allergy. If allergy develops, very low future exposure can cause itching and askin rash.* Methyl Benzoate may cause an asthma-like allergy. Future exposure can cause asthma attacks with shortness of breath, wheezing, cough, and/or chest tightness.* Repeated exposures to high levels of Methyl Benzoatemay affect the nervous system causing tremors and muscle weakness.
Try using All Free detergent to wash your clothes. it has no scent.
I finally found the name of the perfume carrier agent - see above. Methyl benzoate.
That stuff sounds just lovely, I must go get some ASAP -——NOT
Here's what you'll have to do. I learned by experience.
After Hurricane Ike, I had a co-worker staying with me for a while because she lent her apartment to a couple whose home was destroyed. She was always careful not to wear perfumes because (a) she is a considerate person, and (b) she works with extremely ill patients (some with COPD or lung cancer). However, she used regular fragranced detergent and fabric softener, so that aroma was embedded in her clothes. I made the mistake of washing a load of our clothes together. WRONG! Not only did her clothes not give up the scent, mine took it on. :( Everything had to be hung outside for a good airing. (Kind of embarrassing since all the fences in the neighborhood were down!)
If you've been using scented products, you might have to do that with your entire closet. After you get the scent out, I recommend All Free & Clear for your detergent and Ultra Downy Free & Sensitive for your fabric softener. I use those and the are wonderful for keeping the allergens at bay.
Just so I understand, what part of physically ill, Migraines, and cluster headaches, was not crystal clear?
What part of taking imitrex and other medications just to get through a day at the office do you find amusing?
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