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| Benefits & Requirements |
| Now Hiring: Unless you smoke |
Workplace smoking has been under fire for some time now, with many states adopting legislation that makes it illegal for employees to light up indoors. But there’s a new twist to the workplace smoking ban. Union Pacific has banned smoking anywhere on its main property—inside or out, and the company job application is now designed to weed out smokers. Home-improvement retail chain Lowe’s forbids smoking anywhere on store property—including the parking lots. Alaska Airlines requires potential hires to pass a nicotine test prior to hiring. More and more companies are refusing to hire smokers at all, and for the first time, some are firing workers who aren’t willing, or who are unable to quit.
One of the front-runners in this new workplace revolution is Weyco, Inc., a Michigan-based medical benefits administrator. Beginning in 2003, the company quit hiring tobacco users. Later that fall, employees were forbidden to smoke anywhere on company premises. Weyco provided smoking cessation assistance, and beginning in 2004, workers who smoked and refused to attend a cessation class were required to pay a tobacco “assessment” of $50 per month. After a 15-month notice, Weyco terminated employees who were still smoking—even if they only smoked at home.
At issue, according to the corporate executives, are rising health-care costs and the phenomenal increases in health insurance rates. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that employer health-insurance premiums have risen at double-digit rates every year since 2000, and employers just can’t foot the bill any more. High deductible plans are one option, but employees who have a lot of health care costs find them expensive to use. That’s one of the reasons Weyco instituted its new policies. “We want to help our employees to handle the risk of a high-deductible plan,” says Weyco founder and chief executive Howard Weyers. “They can do that by managing their health care.”
Healthcare costs aren’t the only documented expense for employers who hire smokers. Smoking also affects productivity, and smokers have twice as many on-the-job injuries as non-smokers. Absenteeism is also a problem, since smokers take more sick leave, and require longer to heal than non-smokers.
Still, this surprising health policy trend has many employees wondering what lifestyle choices will go on the chopping block next. “Following this logic, you could fire people for eating fast food or riding motorcycles on the weekend,” complains Tony Newman, a self-proclaimed “cigarette addict who works on drug policy issues.”
In the meantime, employers are getting more and more creative about managing healthcare costs. Creating in-office gyms and providing healthier cafeteria food helps some firms manage long-term expenses. Others reduce expenses on a short-term basis by hiring temporary staff to fill some positions, eliminating healthcare benefits costs.
Sources:
Business and Legal Reports. “Employer on Good Footing with Smoking Ban, Experts Say.” Business and Legal Reports. February 3, 2005. <http://hr.blr.com/display.cfm/id/10761>. October 4, 2005.
Gunn, Eileen. “No Ifs Ands or Butts: Smokers Need Not Apply.” Wall Street Journal CareerJournal.com Executive Career Site. <http://www.careerjournal.com/hrcenter/articles/20041214-gunn.html >. October 4, 2005
Newman, Tony. “Fire Up; Get Fired?” AlterNet. January 31, 2005 <http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/21131/>. October 5, 2005.
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