What are my "smokers rights" when my workplace bans smoking and will not, in the future, hire smokers?

shojo

Smokers have no more rights. In my state, you can be stopped by the police for smoking in your car. You'll then be given a ticket if they find a child 6 or under, or 60 pounds or under in your car.

Fluffy

That is wrong, discrimination is illegal no matter who it is against.. proving discrimination is the hard part.

RLH

We have no more rights - we are the lepers of society now - we are "unclean". We kill other people with our evil second hand smoke and women gather their children and run when we draw near.

I feel your pain - but you'd better get used to being discriminated against as a smoker - it's only gonna get worse.

I think all smokers should quit at the same time -the world would fall apart without the RIDICULOUS amount of money we pay in cigarette taxes!

the koo kid

they have that?

nicepuddin

Pretty much none regards the ban on smoking at work. I don't see how they can discriminate against you for something legal that you do in your free time though. You should see a lawyer.

suequek

We have no rights any more. But I don't see how they can control what we do on our own time. That is what I think is not fair! and totally unconstitutional!!!

daylin_j

Wow you can deny someone from getting job because they smoke.. hmmm.. hell yeah I never have to work again cause I smoke.. jk... anyway I dont think they would be able to do that, that would be the same as I can not hire you cause you have a mole on your right butt cheek (lucky guess) or because when you chew gum you chew loud.. It is rights I would think.. Look into it.. call a lawyer... and about the none smoking on there property, go across the street, hell in California you can not smoke anywhere anymore... that is why I live in Indiana.. lol

Crystal Blue Persuasion

This morning I paid a ticket for my 18 yr old son.
He's a high school senior and he was stopped and ticketed because he had a minor in his car who had cigarettes on him. The ticket was $180 dollars. I'm not condoning smoking, but my son doesn't even smoke. Why should he have to pay for giving a smoking kid a ride?
It's getting kinda crazy. Make it totally illegal or stop the nonsense.

George R

absolutely none
private companies can completely disallow smoking even out of the workplace. It has been upheld in court, a company implemented a no smoking policy with a long period for smokers to quit smoking or find another job and if they hadn't quit they would be fired. This was a smoking ban were employees couldn't smoke at all. Anyway, a few months later 2 employees where terminated for smoking even though it wasn't even near the place of employment.

Me-She

Why don't you drop the "smokers rights" & start with the facts of calling it "Workers Rights". All workers are entitled to have rest breaks, bathroom breaks, & meal breaks, as prescribed by your states own individual laws. A federal law overrides any state laws & a state law overrides a local law. I live in California & our state has made it illegal to smoke in any enclosed area. Everyone smokes outside & most buildings require that a smoker must remain 30 feet from the entrance of any & all buildings. Now people are worried about second hand smoke & if there are children present, you cannot smoke in their presence & all parks are starting to implement a 25 foot rule. No smoking within 25 feet of any public playarea & some include the entire park. People moaned about it at first, but now that our state has seen how much better life is without smoke, many people are quiting due to public awareness & pressure. If your company pays your health insurance, then it is my understanding that they have the legal right to deny employment to people who are considered "high risk". They cannot fire you, but they can request that you take classes & dock your pay if you refuse to attend these health related classes. Any one can say they don't smoke or they can start to smoke after they get the job, so how can this be enforced in a good way? They'll probably use peer pressure & make your life a living hell if they find out you are smoking while employed by their company. It's silly & it's gonna make a lot of problems for everyone, everywhere!

It's like prohibition, right?. Listen, stop smoking. I did and it's been over a year. I even got promoted. Ask your doc about CHANTIX. (sounds like a commercial right?) But seriously, I smoked for over 15yrs. I stopped cold w/ no fits no relapse. cost me about 35.00 per month w/ insurance.
good luck

done with this

people should be able to fck up their lives however they please.

i dont care, as long as you keep your dirty pipes away from me :)

sixdollarfreedom

unfortunately you are screwed like the rest of us. my employer not only banned smoking..... we are not even allowed to smoke on the property and we are not allowed to leave the property except on lunch break while punched out.

but, i'm getting used to it because you cannot smoke anywhere public in the state i live in. not even bars. and they are starting to hassle people just for being outside in public areas (like walking down the street) in my immediate area.

however, they could get in trouble by discriminating against new employees based on the fact that they are smokers.

[i am not saying that smoking is healthy in any way BUT, most of the studies that have been done regarding second hand smoke have been one sided and biased. they were looking for the end result that second hand smoke can cause terrible illness' in others so thier reports to the public are presented that way. If you research a little on some of these studies and read the complete reports... there is a much different story. this is not my opinion, this is a fact. not saying that second hand smoke is good but i think more research needs to be done before they throw the world into a judgemental panic. and just for the record, i don't smoke around my kids, just in case]

** a note to the liberal democrat - i too am a democrat (but not a liberal) and that comment about punishing a smoker for murder sounded awful georgebushian to me. since when does a liberal not want everybody to do anything they want to do. "everybody has rights but no responsibilities", seems to be the usual philosphy of liberals.

** a second note to the person that believes smoking is a "voluntary behavior". It is not. it is an addiction. i work in a field where alcoholics and addicts are exempt from certain work activities and can even claim it as a disability. if we wanted to get techinal, smokers could claim the same. discrimination against thier disability of addiction. Anyone who does not smoke thinks it's just so easy. maybe the first stupid puff taken was voluntary but i have been trying to quit for 2 months and have never attempted anything so hard in my life. i am not smoking voluntarily..... i am a slave to my addiction.

** i also love the people that always say they have had to put up with smokers. they were usually the first person saying "i only smoke when i drink".. most of those people also had no problems hanging out in smokey bar when they wanted to party. (i said most... not all) non smokers, especially the younger ones, really have not had to put up with a whole lot of anything since around the late 80's. smokers have been put in little holes in the wall or out in the rain or snow to have thier cigarettes so as not to offend or sicken anyone. in NY the smoking ban started 7 years ago and even before that, there were severe restrictions. i for one, never smoked near someone that i thought it would bother but those people usually didn't have any problems doing things around me that endangered my health, like whining and getting my blood pressure up. i would also like to point out that i never took any more breaks than i was entitled to at my job just because i smoked... i did however used to see people standing around doing nothing and talking about things like that while i was actually working.

Stormchaser

You have none anymore. People are trying to change it and are beginning to understand more about the why of it!

AFwife

they can ban smoking in the workplace, that is their private property.......even outside the building. and they can forbid leaving the property during work hours to prohibit you from going off grounds to smoke. they can also control what you do in your off time if you are wearing a work uniform. (for instance you wear a shirt iwth the company logo to work they can tell you you cant go to a bar after work with that shirt on but they cant tell you that you cant go to a bar at all) i would think it would be the same with smoking. they cant tell you what you can and cant do off work as long as you are out of uniform. they can also however if you have employee health benefits refuse to cover anything smoking related ( even the US military does this) i would check your local laws on smoking and see but i mean really they have no way of knowing what you do in your off time.

also this is from a human resources guidebook on the net that says it covers MOST states laws.
"Questioning employment applicants about age, aliases, religion, citizenship, financial status, disabilities, credit, union membership, and alcohol and drug abuse is generally prohibited. Preemployment inquiries about previous work experience, job-related education and training, relevant personal characteristics, job-related military service, and authorization to work in the United States are permissible. "
http://hr.blr.com

Up your Maslow

Quit and join us.

you have the right to smoke outside.
This is so you don't infringe on someones right not to breath smoke. That's about it.
As for changing the hiring practise, that is discrimination and if proved, the company will pay a high price.
Now for the liberal Democrat, I'm not sure where you think you can say things like that and not be punished. You are just upsetting people for no reason. The person who asked this did nothing to you. Democrats are what is wrong with america.
How dare you say somene should be charged with murder for asking a question to clarify an issue. Shame on you

DarthSabbath

The business is the private property of the owner... if he or she wants to discriminate in their hiring practices, he or she should be allowed to do so. This includes against race, religion, smokers, etc. I personally find ANY discrimination disgusting, but private property rights should be respected, and if the owner does not want to hire someone, it's their choice.

Of course, smoking bans should not be enforced by the government as well. It should be up to the home or business owner whether or not they want a certain person or class of persons on their property.

Irene F

It's legal to ban smoking in the workplace, at least where I live.

Smoking is a voluntary behavior, not a disability, race, creed, etc., so I'm not sure what rights smokers have.

I mean voluntary in a legalistic sense. Smokers are not being discriminated against on the basis of color, gender, or disability. We all know that nicotine is addictive, but AFAIK a smoker is not considered to have a legal disability just by smoking. It's something that a person *does*, not something that a person *is*.

But I'd be really interested in knowing if employers can legally refuse to hire smokers in the US.

moofygirl75

Since you smoke, you have no rights

Henry S

Smokers have no rights. The do not have the right to blow poisons into the atmosphere that is detrimental to the health of others. It's like asking "What rights do murders have?" So you think you should have the "right to murder?"

Sardine, Private Inbreastigator

Studies show that second hand smoke kills millions every month, you should be charged with murder!

- Liberal Democrat

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