Smoking Policies

MNHRPRO

We have admin. assistant staff who share work-desk cubicles so they sit in close proximity to one another, although the tops of the cubicle-surround are only about 4 feet high so there is pretty good air circulation. One of the admins has complained about the smoke smell from her new cube-mate, who has indicated that she smokes about 1.5 packs per day. One of our HR staff contacted the complaining employee and asked if she had discussed the issue with her cube-mate. Her response was: "that's not the solution I was looking for." When she was asked what solution she was looking for she said she didn't have time to discuss it then and we've not heard from her since.

Her manager thinks this is all a smoke-screen for her just not wanting a cube-mate, since she's gotten used to not having one for several years now. However, I just thought I'd check to see if anyone has ideas for how to handle this if she comes back again with a complaint and/or any legal issues we should be aware of.

Thanks for your help.

Dutch2

My first thought would be to handle this the same as you would if the ee had any other offensive smells such as body order.

joannie

ADA caution - Is the complaining ee allergic to smoke?

SMace

Her manager needs to go back and talk to her about it. The manager also needs to see for him/herself if there is an isue with the smell. I like that they put it back on the ee for a solution.

As for the ADA caution, not sure where that comes from. Allergies are not covered under ADA. It could POSSIBLY be a WC issue, but I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole.

System

Allergies that are severe enough to substantially limit a major life activity certainly are covered under the ADA (last time I checked, "breathing" is a major life activity).

Susan in La

We have state laws that prohibit smoking in the workplace, restaurants, other business establishments. I assume you have no such state law?

Paul in Cannon Beach

I am assuming the employee isnt actually smoking at their desk. The complaint is about the odor of cigarette smoke that is coming from the employee.

A person who has just smoked a cigarette (or smoked several in a day) can have a very strong and unpleasant cigarette odor.

That said, the employee needs to be an adult and confront the co-worker. If that doesn't work, they should go through the chain of command.