Tobacco.org

A Smoke-Free Workplace Is Perfectly Legal  

Not only is it legal to enforce policies that promote a smoke-free work environment. Allowing smoking at work, if the effects are severe enough to threaten employee health, might constitute a violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). Although there is no OSHA regulation prohibiting workplace smoking per se, employers could be liable for the negative effects of workplace smoking under the so-called "General Duty Clause" of the law, which states that each employer "shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees." More specifically, OSHA requires that employers provide employees with an acceptable level of indoor air quality, and the agency's written guidance states that employers must keep air contaminants within "permissible exposure limits." In addition, several states and localities have passed laws banning smoking, to varying degrees, in the workplace.

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