posted on January 28, 2005 07:58:47 PM new
If they quit, then they dramatically hurt their chances to winning a lawsuit. Not a lost cause, but definitely hurt it.
"Who's tending the bar? Sniping works up a thirst"
posted on January 28, 2005 08:26:48 PM new
That's what I was thinking. Looks like this has been a lawsuit issue way back to '87....and the non-smoking rule...even OFF work was upheld.
In the recent Michigan case, four Weyco employees have quit their jobs after refusing to take a tobacco test, according to Houston.
He said the company announced the policy 15 months ago to its 200-plus employees, giving smokers more than a year's time to kick the habit before the Jan. 1 testing day. All employees have passed the test, Houston added.
Also read...not on this site...that the company HAD offered to pay for smoking cessation classes/groups.
posted on January 28, 2005 08:55:06 PM new
I will bet weight watchers will be the next option for this corporation since weight watchers does lunch meetings. That means weight watchers will go to the corporation and hold their meetings. At 9 bucks a person should be a windfall for weight watchers.
posted on January 28, 2005 09:06:55 PM new
Could happen, libra.
My cousin, self-employed, lives in Florida. He was about 100 pounds overweight...and seeking medical insurance for he and his wife. NO insurance company would take him at his weight...and when he finally found one that said they would...with a $3,000.00 a year deductible....they wanted a premiun of just under $900.00 a MONTH for the two of them. [She is at a normal weight]. He started that Subway diet.....like the advertized twin black men did....and he's lost almost 80 pounds now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Four More Years....YES!!!
posted on January 29, 2005 02:16:26 AM new
You wont be able to go to a bar. The corporate police will sniff you out and find you: guilty! - or not?! lol! What if you live with a smoker, but are not actually 'the' smoker?
Perhaps we are all moving toward the virtual reality of your choosing. Stay home and smoke to your hearts content at your own bar.
Do you have a juke box, though
It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The Regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin
He says, "Son, can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete When I wore a younger mans clothes"
La la la, de de da
La la, de de da da dum
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight,
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke But there's someplace that he'd rather be He says, "bill, I believe this is killing me." As the smile ran away from his face "Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star If I could get out of this place"
Oh, la la la, de de da, La la, de de da da dum,
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife, And he's talkin' with Davy, who's still in the navy
And probably will be for life.
And the waitress is practicing politics,
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness,But it's better than drinkin' alone.
sing us a song you're the piano man, sing us a song tonight, well we're all in the mood
for a melody and you got us feeling alright
posted on January 29, 2005 04:21:27 AM new
The employees who quit can still file a lawsuit if they can prove the policy created a hostile work environment. I'm betting they can. Also, this company has fired people for smoking. They will certainly file. There are people who are obese not due to over-eating. Some medications can cause obesity. The medical community claims to have found that some genes can cause obesity. There's thyroid disease as well. Does a company have the right to delve into your entire medical history (remember - doctor/patient privilege)? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think even a court can delve into it without jumping through hoops.
What about mental diseases? Depression is a huge problem in this country. Should a company fire you because you suffer from depression?
Should I have been fired from my job for tripping over a loose piece of carpeting and breaking my ankle? They could call me clumsy saying I don't watch where I'm going. It was a workers' comp issue so it did cost them. As far fetched as that seems, if firing someone for what they do in their own home is deemed perfectly legal, anything is possible.
I blame this policy more on the insurance companies who are more than willing to take your money and less willing to give it back. I deal with these companies on a daily basis and trying to get payment from some of them is h*ll. I'm sure professional medical billers can tell you horror stories about dealing with insurance companies. They've gotten out of control in both the premiums they charge and the way in which they disburse those premiums.
When I worked for a company that provided insurance, I paid into it out of every paycheck and maybe, just maybe, used it three times in ten years. I'm a smoker and not one trip was related to that. To blame smokers for the high price of insurance premiums is ludicrous. But, as long as the insurance companies are allowed to pull this crap it will continue until everyone is affected!
Cheryl
"No drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power." ~ P.J. O'Rourke
posted on January 29, 2005 04:58:38 AM new
::They've gotten out of control in both the premiums they charge and the way in which they disburse those premiums::
ha-ha-ha-ha Cheryl, have you ever looked closely at your itemized bill? especially from an E.R visit? They will charge you something like $27.00 for an aspirin or $12.00 for a band aide!!
OTOH, you may have never been sick due to smoking, but there are increased risks associated it. Its breaks down your immunity. Your lungs are particulary vulnerable of course makes you susceptible to chronic bronchitics any other lung maladies, then there's your throat, mouth, heart,blood stream,,,,,,skin(did you know your skin in considered an organ?)
If you havent seen the movie "Gattaca" you should watch it. The reality is coming extremly close.
posted on January 29, 2005 05:44:38 AM new
You smoke don't you cheryl...
This a company, not some state run organization... so they want to clean up their employees... nothing wrong with that.
I would be against any "law" allowing this to happen... because sooner or later that company is going to realize that their labor pool is very small, however it should also be good for the employees there as soon they could demand higher wages...
posted on January 29, 2005 06:20:17 AM new
Yes, tweleve, I smoke. However, I am trying to quit. It's not an easy road. I can't use the patch. I allergic to something in the adhesive. I can't take the pills. So, I'm basically on my own.
Hospitals do overcharge. They do it because they've gotten away with it for so long. However, there are plenty of doctor's offices that do not. The doctor I go to charges me $25 per visit and did the same when I was insured. REALLY cheap, IMO. We don't overcharge where I work. We've lost a lot of money due to insurance companies not paying us.
Cheryl
"No drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power." ~ P.J. O'Rourke
posted on January 29, 2005 07:17:02 AM new
Cheryl, I read an interesting - may be classified as a "whack-cure" but was always curious if it would work. It said to use.. Cinnamon sticks! I cant remember what your supposed to do with them, though. lol! Smell em, hold em, puff on em, cook with em...but they are supposed to have some wondrous effect to assist in trying to quit smoking. Perhaps it has more to do with hand to mouth thing going on. Holding them. But then, I don't know why it would have to be a cinnamon stick - as pencil or anything else would do just as well? Maybe you can keep that in mind.
posted on January 29, 2005 05:44:07 PM new
The hospitals charge such outrageous amounts most of the time to try and make up for all the deadbeats out there. Yes, they know that the lucky ones who have medical coverage will have the claim submitted, then the insurance company will come back and only allow a certain amount which the hospital (if a listed preferred provider) will have to accept.
However, there are a good number of people out there who have no insurance and cannot afford any type of coverage. They've got to just hope that they don't get seriously ill. When they do, they go to the ER where they are treated. Who pays? We the taxpayers do at times, the rest of the time the hospital takes it in the shorts. So, $12 for a bandaid is surely outrageous. But it goes to help pay for the 50 or 60 bandaids that were given out for free.
"Who's tending the bar? Sniping works up a thirst"
posted on January 30, 2005 06:02:29 AM new
Cheryl- Don't feel alone...I quit smoking in my early 20's (single Mom, needed milk and bread, got no child support and had one week till payday), but I started again shortly after my hysterectomy 8 1/2 years later...it was that vs drugs, alcohol or killing the people around me...lol!
Whether I smoke or not, this companies policy is crap. NO ONE should be allowed to come in MY home that I OWN and PAY TAXES on and tell me what to do! Cigarette smoking is NOT against the law. How long before they can tell you you're not allowed to have sex with the person of your own choosing or aren't allowed to own pets? Believe me, sh*t like this happens..Just watch your rights drip away...one at a time....until you have none left.
posted on January 30, 2005 06:20:24 AM new
People are forgetting, you don't have to work there.
This is not some law of the land... this is a company trying to employ the type of employees that best suit their current needs...
Once the employees figure out they actually have the power... it could be bad for the employer... with the strict policies getting new employees could be difficult.
posted on January 30, 2005 06:38:03 AM new
:: This is not some law of the land ::
not yet... but if you realise culture trends, the shift towards non-smoking has slowly moved from a main-stream concensus of WWI-WWII glamoourous to yuck, but not so horrible, to almost those that do, are like leppers or drug addicts (which they are really anyway-drug addicts.) But I dont see smoking becoming illegal or banned because the tobacco industry is pretty big mover and shaker in this country no matter dem or republican and where would they go? well, maybe medicine. but the more something is accepted, or not accepted mainstream, the more the influence works its way into our laws eventurally, imo.
edit to add: thats why lawyers and courts worry so much about precedents.
[ edited by dblfugger9 on Jan 30, 2005 06:39 AM ]
Sniping works up a thirst"
