Re: No Smokers Wanted in Houston (was: Tech Writers Wanted..

["Flanders, Melanie" <mflanders -at- DYNASTY -dot- COM>]

The last requirement was:

>      Must be a non-smoker.

>Is this requirement enforceable? I live in
>California and find this requirement
>strange. For one thing, it has been illegal
>to smoke in the workplace for quite a while
>now.


I used to work for the employer for whom Deborah was posting.

I was told that the insurance carrier that they use requires that ALL employees
be nonsmokers to get the rates that they do. In the employment agreement that
you sign, you must certify that you are a nonsmoker. The agreement further
states that if you are caught smoking anywhere (including a public place), it is
grounds for termination. I used to wonder whether the company could install
hidden cameras in your house to see whether you smoked at home--shades of Big
Brother? Your spouse can smoke. I don't know whether anyone has tested the
policy in the courts.

Smoke-free environments are still relatively new in Texas. At least with a
policy like Deborah's employer, you don't have to smell smoke walking into the
building, either. Where I work now, if the smokers are taking a smoke break,
they're all at the ashtray near the door. You either make sure you don't inhale
as you go through the door, or else you just breathe in some pretty concentrated
secondhand smoke.

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