Hospital Receptionist Claims She Was Fired for Smelling Like Cigarette Smoke

KSTP.com ^ | 07/26/2012 | Mark Saxenmeyer

[Daffynition]

A Fridley woman named Stephanie Cannon believes she's the victim of discrimination -- fired because she smelled like cigarette smoke.

Cannon, a smoker for 18 years, says she smokes almost a pack a day of Camel Menthols. But when she landed a job in June as a medical receptionist at Park Nicollet Health Services, in the Frauenshuh Cancer Center, she says she followed the hospital's clearly-stated "no smoking" policy. (There is no smoking allowed at any time on the premises.)

"There were never any performance issues at all," Cannon insists.

[Daffynition]

[freedomfiter2]

Showing up for work with bad odor isn’t smart for a receptionist.

[Venturer]

People who smoke really do stink.

I guess they are used to it and don’t notice it, but it isn’t pleasant.

[PowderMonkey]

I smoked a pack a day for 35 years. Quit cold turkey in 2007. Never looked back. Never missed them. Also, never knew how bad they smelled to others until I quit. I still love the smell of good pipe tobacco and expensive cigars, but cigarettes stink. Why is that?

[GrannyK]

I agree, if you don’t smoke it is just repugnant to be near a smoker. It is imbedded in their clothes and hair etc. My son smokes & even tho I don’t notice it that much, hubby just gets sick from the odor (he has lung problems)....if I have the least bit of a cold & a smoker comes near, it makes me cough & gag.

[ZinGirl]

Showing up for work with bad odor

but using whose definition of "bad odor"?

i can't tolerate heavy perfume smells...makes my brain swell. :P

[VanDeKoik]

It is a rule in many hospitals that you are not to smoke, and even the odor of it on you is grounds for dismissal.

[Tainan]

"...Park Nicollet Health Services, in the Frauenshuh Cancer Center..."

Yeah...I can see where this ash tray smell might be just a little bit of a problem.
Sometimes you have to think outside the pack...;)

[jimmygrace]

A lot of potential boy friends were also found to have been guilty of odor discrimination...

[freedomfiter2]

i can’t tolerate heavy perfume smells...makes my brain swell.

That sounds like bad odor. I’ve seen working employees that had so much perfume on that it made my eyes water. If you work with the public you need to make them comfortable around you (unless you’re a government worker).

[Free Vulcan]

Reading the article, the company is being a bit of a douche about it considering the lengths she went to accomodate them (which tells me there might be other reasons they wanted to get rid of her). Still, if she knew all this up front, and it seems their policy is very up front, she should have known where things stood. I don’t see a lack of disclosure issue here to where it looks like she got bait-and-switched.

[sickoflibs]

I gave up smoking in the mid 1980s when smoking indoors was legal. In those days everyone smelled likes moke. Now it is very obvious who smokes especially those who do it in their car.

[P-Marlowe]

If this is a private business then they had every right to fire her.

[MrEdd]

She thought Hygiene was optional.

[Durus]

The policy up front was no smoking on the premises. They defacto made it a no smoking on or off work premises which is against the law in that state. Their excuse was that she "stank" of smoke.

I haven't had a cigarette in a long time and I still miss it. I even love the smell of cigarette smoke. I've decided that in 35 years I'm going to start smoking again. It will be too late in my life to worry about the cumulative long term health risk associated with smoking, assuming of course I don't get killed by raging neocommunists democrats before then.

[Daffynition]

[Daffynition]

[Daffynition]

I’ve worked with folks who kept horses .... they smelled too. Somehow we all survived.

[Gay State Conservative]

but using whose definition of "bad odor"?

Non smokers,who represent about 85% of the population today,pretty much universally see that odor as very unpleasant.

[NELSON111]

>>>People who smoke really do stink.

They really do. My mom and dad smoked 2 packs a day...each. I remember seeing the smoke hover at about 4' high in the living room at night. Now...I know instantly when someone is a heavy smoker or is around a heavy smoker...because they stink.

I am ALSO horrified at the thought of just how bad I must have smelled because of all that 2nd hand smoke. Just to think I went through life smelling like that. I guess the only consolation is everyone else's parents were smoking so we all stunk.