When you work, you look forward to doing whatever you want when away from the job, but with many hospitals forbidding employees to smoke on their own time, you may find that your personal time no longer gives you the freedom that you desire. Hospitals across the country now ban employees from smoking at work and away from work because of issues like rising health insurance rates and patient allergies. While these policies are legal and do not violate any labor or employment laws, not everyone agrees that the pros outweigh the cons.
Banning Smoking
Smoking bans began popping up in the United States in the middle of the 2000s. Major cities across the country banned smoking in public places, including bars and restaurants. Cities later banned smoking within 50 or even 100 feet of any public building like a government office or a library. Hospitals forbidding employees to smoke on their own time is just the latest addition to this ban. The boards of those hospitals point out that smoking is hazardous to the health of employees, that it can impact patients and that smoking can increase the risk of employees contracting diseases like emphysema and lung cancer.
Testing Workers
To ensure that workers do not smoke, many hospitals now require that applicants check a box on their application that states they do not smoke now and will not smoke in the future. The New York Times found that some hospitals even state outright in job postings that they will not hire smokers and that other hospitals do urine testing of workers to ensure that no one smokes. The same test that you might take to show you are not a drug user can now let employers know whether you’re a smoker or a drinker.
Benefits
There are some benefits to hospitals introducing anti-smoking bans. It shows that hospitals care about their employees as much as they care about their patients and that it keeps those facilities clean and free from cigarette butts. Another benefit relates to patients checking into the hospital. Some patients have such severe allergies to cigarettes that they will have an allergic reaction to the scent clinging to an employee’s uniform. Other workers may have allergies to cigarette smoke too.
Cons of Smoking Bans
While hospitals have the legal right to ban smoking on hospital grounds and to prohibit employees from smoking at home, it led to a debate over how much control employers can have. If hospitals can ban employees from using a legal substance in their private lives, what will stop those employers from banning other substances like alcohol or stopping employees from participating in potentially dangerous activities like hang gliding or surfing? There is also a risk that an employee may or spend time with a smoker and pick up the tobacco smell on his or her clothing. Simply coming into work smelling like cigarettes may lead to employees losing their jobs.
The government put labor and employment laws in place to protect workers, but employers have the legal right to establish their own rules and regulations too. While hospitals forbidding employees to smoke on their own time is completely legal, those against these regulations point out that these rules give employers more control over workers and may open the door to employers banning other legal substances and activities in the future.
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