Total Articles: 5
Bans on Smokers in the Workplace Continues
"More job-seekers are facing an added requirement: no smoking -- at work or anytime." That is the opening line of an article on USA Today's Money website. I will defer to the news organization and the author of the piece but, to be frank, I have doubts about the objective veracity of that statement. I am certain, however, that this story is not a new one.
Smokers’ Rights in the Employment Context
Can employers refuse to hire a applicants for their tobacco use? In most states, the answer is “yes.” Unless the candidate is applying for a job in a State with a “smokers’-rights statute,” an employer can refuse to hire candidates who smoke.
Health-Care Employers Who Don't Hire Smokers
Not all workplace discrimination is unlawful. For example, employers can refuse to hire candidates who will not wear necessary safety equipment. That is discrimination. That is not unlawful discrimination. One type of employment discrimination that is not unlawful in some states is discrimination against smokers or, more usually, discrimination based on tobacco use.
Smoking Bans Spreading Like Wildfire.
For the first time in our nations history, more than half of all Americans live in a city or state with laws requiring that workplaces, restaurants or bars be smoke free, according to the advocacy group Americans For Nonsmokers Rights (ANR). In fact, in the past year alone, nine states have passed new laws restricting smoking in public places.
Two New Studies Look at Mothers -- and Smokers -- in the Workplace (Registration Required).
Many parents love to brag about their children. Some even note their children's existence on their resumes. Perhaps they shouldn't. According to research presented by two Cornell University sociologists at a recent Wharton conference, mothers suffer when competing for jobs against similarly qualified fathers and childless men and women. Additional research discussed at the conference -- organized by Wharton's Center for Human Resources -- offered interesting observations on another workplace group: smokers. Scholars from Columbia University and Barnard College conclude that smokers are paid less on average than other workers because they may be less willing to invest time and effort in career advancement than nonsmoking colleagues.
