Posted on 07/09/2014 6:36:40 AM PDT by rktman
Starting next year, Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis will require potential employees to pass a drug test–detecting nicotine.
This so-called “job screening” will bar any applicants who smoke cigarettes, cigars, pipes, snuff, hookah, and even e-cigarettes from being eligible for employment. While the hospital already has a smoking ban on the premises and surrounding sidewalks, this policy forbids new employees from consuming tobacco anywhere, at any time.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
Are you in HR and/or Profit and Loss? I hear a lot from you guys lately, lol. (Cracker Barrel, anyone?)
I hate tobacco and think its use is evidence of a poor thought process, however...
Within ten years these fascists will be refusing to hire meat eaters, leather shoe wearers, SUV drivers and motorcycle riders.
Within twenty years if your family going back three generations is all white, you’ll be asked to explain why.
I know liberals who have left the state because of high taxes — the same ones they voted for.
Unfortunately the whole mess is set up by actuarial tables instead of a case by case/individual process. I smoke and the only med I’m on is for psoriasis. Other than that, my own health is good to excellent. Granted some smokers are in terrible health and end up costing more insurance wise. I was probably in a lot better health and in better shape than a lot of my co-workers were. But, due to the tables, I get to pay more. Same for life insurance. I declined to certifiy being smoke free so it costs me more for my life insurance. Oh well.
I don’t smoke and never have but if they want to direct my actions 24/7 they damn well better pay me for 24/7 work.
But tobacco is so sacred Native American.
Do I get an exemption?
LOL! See how the slippery slope control thing works. When you take your next physical, do you wonder if your sugar levels or sodium levels or any levels of anything will be put in a data base too? ;>}
Darn smokers.
Yes, I agree with you. Liberals feel that they have some moral and intellectual superiority, and somehow actually believe that they have all of the answers, and should enact their rules “for our own good”.
Our company has "Home Rooms".
Starting next year they may require us to only wear brown shirts to work.
Is Maryland in America? This is the same great state that brought you the “Rain Tax”. Apparently Maryland can go deep into debt for sports stadiums (Orioles, Ravens and Redskins) that fail to support themselves and then come up with creative ways to make the average Joe pay for them. Worked for years in Maryland and wondered why anyone would have a business there since the cost of doing business is so much higher than in neighboring states. By the way, never forget that Washington, D.C. should never be a state, just return it to Maryland. The precedent for this already exists in Virginia where the Virginia portion of DC was ceded back to the state.
This is my problem with legalizing recreational drugs. What do the various law enforcement agencies now require from recruits and long-time members? What about professional organizations, just as law and accounting certification groups? Will cops now be allowed to "light up" off duty and still keep their jobs? Will lawyers and accountants now be exempt from this long-standing ethical standard?
I worked around liberals for many years. Your assessment of the liberal mentality is very accurate. It all revolves around a deep seated sense of moral and intellectual superiority.
These “high minded” liberals are some of the least tolerant people on earth.
It may be wrong-headed, but (as many on this forum would certainly argue) employers are within their rights to employ or not employ who they choose, based on whatever criteria they like (except for race, religion, and apparently sexual orientation, now). Employees have the right to walk and look for work elsewhere.
That’s not to say I like it. I’m glad my employer doesn’t seem to take any interest in my life outside work.
In Europe they would take to the streets and riot if employers tried this sort of stuff, for the government to intervene and make it illegal. But we don’t want government interference with either our personal lives, or in business, right?
I understand your problem with actuarial tables. But when you know the rules of the game, you make your decisions. You choose to smoke, so it costs you more money. I hope smoking never catches up with you, but the odds are that it will. We know what it does to the body. Stay well, my FRiend.
I have made my choice with auto insurance. I stay within a few miles of the speed limit, do not drink and drive, and drive defensively.
Well.....in the military they do pay you to be on or available for duty 24/7, and they can make you p** in the bottle anytime to test for things you may have ingested on your off duty time.
BUT - the military can only test for ILLEGAL substances. I was in a JAG unit where commanders asked us if they could randomly test for alcohol use. The answer was a firm NO; alcohol is not an illegal substance (unless you’re deployed) and only its abuse can be controlled based upon probable cause, and that’s for the MPs to do.
FWIW, if a commander thought one soldier was doing drugs, he could not invoke probable cause; the entire unit had to be locked down & 100% of personnel tested.
Anyway, this is a private employer doing what is considered best for the firm. Don’t like it, go elsewhere to work, IMO.
I can really only understand drug testing in jobs where safety is dependent on employees being clear-headed - vehicle operators, heavy equipment, that sort of thing. Of course drug testing doesn’t catch everything, so there may be better ways to achieve that goal. For other types of employees, shouldn’t they just be judged on their performance? If they get the job done, who cares what they do on their own time?
“Maryland is a hell hole, ruled by Facist Democrats.”
I belong to a pipe club that meets in the Baltimore area. We collect and smoke pipes and tobaccos. We used to meet in a restaurant in Parkville in the banquet room. There were 20 or more of us ordering off the menu, eating , smoking and socializing, not bothering anyone else, and not being bothered by anyone else. The restaurant owner was happy, we were happy, everyone was happy, except for the Maryland state legislature, who passed legislation banning us from meeting there and smoking.
“Private employers should be able to restrict whatever they want.”
I agree, but they’re not really free to do so. Is this a private employer?
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