KENTUCKY BILL WOULD ALLOW EMPLOYERS TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST SMOKERS
www.wcluradio.com/kentucky-bill-would-allow-employers-to-discriminate-against-smokers/
Bill would allow employers to discriminate against smokers
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) —
A state senator in Kentucky says companies should be allowed to discriminate against people who smoke.
Republican Sen. John Schickel of Union pre-filed his proposal this week. The bill would remove smokers from the protected classes outlined in Kentucky’s employment anti-discrimination law and allow employers to lawfully refuse to hire or terminate people who smoke.
Currently, state law protects smokers as long as the employee “complies with any workplace policy concerning smoking.” State law allows employers to offer stop-smoking incentives and a difference in employee contributions to an employer-sponsored health plan for smokers.
Schickel says smokers should not be a protected class.
The bill has not yet advanced in the Senate.
Filed under: General Problems
In my mind it’s the principle of the matter. How far will this go? And we just let them do this to us. I feel they don’t have the right to pick and choose. If they can’t discriminate one way, they’ll do it in another. This, in my mind opens a very dangerous Pandora’s Box of possibilities.
There is a Hospital here in Charlottesville, VA that will not hire anyone who smokes for any position.
That’s funny. I wonder how many overweight employees they have? Or employees that drink?
Same here where I live in Ohio. It’s getting more and more difficult for a smoker to find a job. The hospital here stopped hiring smokers 3 years ago
Chronic pain, clearly, under the guise of “unreliable opioid addicts”…
How about the person who goes to the tanning bed and/or lays in the sun and gets cancer? Do we not hire the person? Ban tanning beds? How about the person that drinks? They are at greater risk of getting into an accident and/or messing up their liver. Becoming an alcoholic. Do we not hire that person because of the possible risks? The extra health costs?
My point is this is just ridiculous and if it doesn’t stop we won’t be able to do anything. Because of a “What If”
I’m sorry but I agree. Smokers take/need more sick days, drive health care insurance up, loss of productivity due to ‘smoking breaks’ .Also the rules where non smoker employees can sue the employers if they don’t have areas to work in totally away from smokers cause even when they aren’t smoking if, the nicotine is in their hair, clothes. I just watched an English BBC documentary on when parents go outside to smoke, then come inside, the residue collects in the kids ears hairs and causes problems with their hearing.
Hey, it would also give the smokers incentive to quit, or not start in the first place. It’s a dirty, nasty habit. My mother died at 53 from smoking and my best friend died at 58, and my friend only smoked 4 a day! What happened was she had a low grade breast cancer-vet curable, but because she smoked it went right for her lungs and brain.
So it’s very expensive for a company to hire smokers. They also have to build ‘smoking rooms’ outside, heat them, ventilate them, and like I mentioned earlier the loss time walking to and from, and the 15 minutes to smoke. Who is going to pick up that work load of the smokers? The non smokers of course!!!
Sorry- i’m All for it!!!
“Smokers take/need more sick days, drive health care insurance up, loss of productivity due to ‘smoking breaks’.”
The same can be said about those who are obese and those over a certain age. Diabetics can be expensive to employ. Should all of them be discriminated against? Where does it stop? This is a Slippery slope and could eventually affect you.
I do not agree with you. Yes, I am a smoker. No non smoker has ever made up for any smoke break of mine. I get the same amount of breaks and time as a non smoker. How I decide to use my lunch and breaks should be my decision. I’ve never been over for an extra 1-5 mins to go smoke.
Like someone else has mentioned, what about the obese people who under perform and cost extra $ on insurance? Get rid of them too?
Agree,,,it maybe too late,,,but,,if I don’t go down swinging,,,w/the truth,,,Illl never forgive myself,,,maryw
Does everyone know by now we’re living in Hitler’s Germany? We need a populist Congress—-but it may be too late!
This world is going to hell in a hand basket…