Employers more often dictating off-work behavior
Jump to full article: Wilmington (DE) News Journal, 2008-03-10
Author: ERIC RUTH, The News Journal
Intro: nsurance costs and survive a wheezing economy, some are scrutinizing their employees' off-duty behavior, firing those who smoke, tacking surcharges onto overweight workers' health plans and even dismissing people for having an off-duty drink.
Such practices are raising claims of unwarranted intrusion, a few cries of illegal discrimination and warnings of fraying liberties. "If it's your own business and you can't do what you want, that's communism," said Mill Creek resident Helen Muhlmichl, a nonsmoker and smoking opponent who has even lost a father to lung cancer.
But without a change in the law, experts see little prospect of bringing a successful legal challenge in Delaware.
Twenty-nine states have laws specifically protecting workers from being fired for off-duty smoking, but Delaware isn't among them. . . .
employers mainly are targeting smokers. In part, society's crusade against smoking has made smokers politically "safe" to persecute, Siegel said.
Governments and businesses routinely impose increasing restrictions on where they may light up -- even when second-hand smoke is not a risk. Cash-strapped states, including Delaware, have come to realize that raising smokers' taxes will cause the least squawking and minimal sympathy.
"It's a voluntary act," Sean McDevitt, partner at Pepper Hamilton in Wilmington, said of smoking. "Let's face it, we push them outside to smoke on rainy days. ... I think there is little pity on smokers."
Some companies offer smoking cessation programs and other assistance before taking more drastic measures. . . .
Delaware's legal and legislative atmosphere does not seem conducive to creating more restrictions on employers
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