Nah, but he drinks like a fish.
Moosehead of course.
Posted on 12/23/2005 7:13:34 AM PST by Millee
SACKED smoker Sophie Blinman threatened to take her former employers to court yesterday, fuming: "I'm furious. Surely this is discrimination."
Stunned Sophie, 21, was given the boot 45 minutes after starting her new job even though she promised not to light up in office hours.
Her bosses declared: "It's positive discrimination and we're proud of it." Experts agreed the company was not breaking the law. But smokers' pressure group Forest said: "This is outrageous."
Sophie, who smokes five to 10 cigarettes a day, was delighted to land her £6-an-hour job as an administrator at Dataflow Communications.
She said: "I dressed smartly, arrived in good time and was about to be taken on a tour of the offices when I was asked if I smoked. When I said I did, I immediately sensed a problem.
"I explained I'd happily wait until my lunch break to smoke, and leave the premises to do so. But I was told the company didn't employ smokers and there was no longer a position for me.
"I can't believe a business is allowed to have a policy against employing smokers. I was never even asked at my interview if I smoked."
Threatening legal action, Sophie, of Shepton Mallet, Somerset, added: "This has left me angered and unemployed. I shall be seeking legal advice."
Dataflow, which employs 20 workers at its offices in Wells, advertises its non-smokers policy on its website.
Managing director Fran Edwards said: "All our employees have been recruited on this basis. We can't make an exception."
Information Services boss Ian Murray added: "We didn't ask Sophie at her interview if she was a smoker because we assumed the agency that sent her only asked non-smokers to apply."
Employment lawyer Frank Ryan said: "This is unusual, but it doesn't breach the law. Sophie won't qualify for unfair dismissal but she might challenge on the grounds of human rights."
Forest said: "Only smokers can be discriminated against without penalty."
Since this happened in the UK, the ACLU will be of no help.
In England? You've got to be kidding. Of course it isn't, that's private protected behavior and none of any company' business. Hey the folks participating in that could very well be partner's in a civil union, like the recently "united" Elton John and his partner. Or they could even be married hextrosexuals. .
Ethically or morally, probably none. However legally there could be a big difference. You have no right to be hired, but once hired you have a legal interest in keeping your job. At least under US law, in at least some states, but I wouldn't know about English law for certain.
Fired for smoking ping
All these ridiculous policies will do is cause people to start lying about their smoking. Just what we need...a smoker's underground. This is crap.
You're mistaken. I have no problem with people smoking. However, I do not smoke myself.
I believe that a person(s) right to run his business the way he/she sees fit trumps the rights of the employee(s) under any circumstance. On the flip side, I am staunch opponent of anti-smoking legislation forcing businesses to go smoke-free.
When a person thinks that they can do whatever they want, despite their employer's stated job requirements, that is a problem. Employees forget that they work for the employer, not with the employer.
Yes, yes, yes, and yes. That's what happens when the company pays most or all of your health care expenses. He who pays the piper gets to call the tune.
Unless of course the law indicates otherwise, which it often does in such cases. In the US you can't discriminate against old people, black people, or on account of race, or in some jurisdictions on account of sexual orientation.
You guys don't have lakes and boats for water skiing?
Yes, but I must point out that Omar is a tailor, not a seamstress. The seamstress would be Fatima.
What if my boss finds out I collect and target shoot guns? Or (gasp!) hunt deer?!!? Should he be allowed to fire me because he doesn't like guns or hunting?
It can and will be taken to the extreme if we don't nip it in the bud.
Nah, but he drinks like a fish.
Moosehead of course.
I have worked at my job for 19 years. Do you believe the owner has the right to now change the terms of my employment and insist that I give up snow skiing, waterskiing, target shooting, hunting, my sports car, my beer-drinking and my occassional cigar, or else be fired?
The free market would correct for this and employers would make adjustments so that they could run their businesses. Actually, the free market would never allow things to get to the point where there are no employees and just a country full of employers. It's self-defeating.
xrp is not advocating a sweeping governmental policy that discriminates against all smokers. He is simply saying that, as a private enterprise, this business has the right to set its own standards of whom they will and will not hire. If they do not want to hire smokers, or homosexuals, or heterosexuals, or vegans--that should be their right. They decide what kind of culture and workforce they have. No governmental agency should be able to impose that on them.
Now, another business could come along and say, "We only hire smokers." They should be able to discriminate against non-smokers if they want.
Of course, if an employer establishes a discriminatory employment policy that raises hackles, the marketplace will punish it by not doing business with that company.
A business should be able to decide who their suppliers are. The business owner decides where they get their computers, their tech support, their widgets, etc. The employer also decides who provides their labor. They buy it from people who meet their criteria.
Smokers are not currently of the "more equal than others" class.
One is filthy disgusting behavior, the other is a filthy disgusting behavior sanctioned by the liberal nanny State.
They could unless the state or local government prohibited it. Quite a few do now days.
I agree with everything you just posted. We basically agree on everything. Except I would have a small chuckle if the policy came back to bite the company in the hindquarters.
Precisely.
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