[k.ODOMA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fyrfytrhoges many fire departments i have applied for make you sign a document stating that you do not smoke prior to interviewing you for a position. and that includes smoking while not on duty...

I can sort of understand that. Your health is one of your job requirements. They don't want people who can't run up a flight of stairs cause they smoke everyday.

 

[Edwood]

Taxes on cigarettes are not valid if they start using the argument that they pay extra for health care. Besides, most companies have turnover rates far faster than one could die from smoking.

Obesity kills far more than smoking does, (although the combination of the two is really bad), so this is definitely within the realm of the slippery slope.

I'm a militant non-smoker, but this is going too far. I'm all for smoking in private, as long as it's away from other people in a hermetically sealed filtered environment.

-Ed

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

Yeah I can understand that too, you could be risking someone else's life or your own as a job like that is very physically demanding.

 

[fyrfytrhoges]

yeah but you would be amazed at how many firefighters smoke anyway. for some reason, which i cannot explain, a cigarette after a large fire tastes good for some reason.

 

[fyrfytrhoges]

and i can tell you this, after working healthcare for the past 12 years, that the hospitals are not crying crocodile tears that people get sick from smoking. especially if you have insurance, just a fact of the capitalist society in which we live.

 

[k.ODOMA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fyrfytrhoges and i can tell you this, after working healthcare for the past 12 years, that the hospitals are not crying crocodile tears that people get sick from smoking. especially if you have insurance, just a fact of the capitalist society in which we live.

Yeah, more business for them.

 

[rickcr42]

yup.

we are such sheep we need someone to tell us what to eat,how many hours of sleep to get,what type and amount of exercise is the proscribed norm,what and where we can do what.

oh yeah.we then need to get rid of ugly people ,and of course stupid people-they REALLy cost in medical and other areas ! Always screwing up !

I say we need to get rid of all imperfection and only the beautiful people should be allowed to live.the rst are nothing and beneath our stature

how DARE they breath my air !

 

[bong]

yes... i agree if the job requires good physical condition, especially for public service. but working for a private company is going way overboard. even judging a potential employee because of obesety is wrong. it has nothing to do with how the person will perform on the job, just as long as the person is not taking office time to snack or anything like that.

deciding on whether to hire a person because of their obesity, smoking habit, pregnancy, sex, race, religion, etc... is just wrong and unethical.

 

[aeriyn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bong deciding on whether to hire a person because of their obesity, smoking habit, pregnancy, sex, race, religion, etc... is just wrong and unethical.

But it happens. And then some; I was fired from a job when I was sixteen, and the reasons they gave were very vague and indistinct. Later I find out, from a friend who still worked there, that one of the managers had seen me kiss my girlfriend in front of the store (after I was clocked out mind you)... and there went my job. I'm sure it sucks to be fired for smoking off the clock, but getting fired for kissing off the clock is pretty messed up.

Of course the fact that I'm gay had something to do with it; this is the South.

 

[bong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aeriyn But it happens. And then some; I was fired from a job when I was sixteen, and the reasons they gave were very vague and indistinct. Later I find out, from a friend who still worked there, that one of the managers had seen me kiss my girlfriend in front of the store (after I was clocked out mind you)... and there went my job. I'm sure it sucks to be fired for smoking off the clock, but getting fired for kissing off the clock is pretty messed up. Of course the fact that I'm gay had something to do with it; this is the South.

that's very very wrong... if that happened to me i would've beat the living crap out of the ex-boss.

 

[rickcr42]

Quote:

yes... i agree if the job requires good physical condition,

i work construction and you either can do the job or you can't.Simple.

no place to hide and if you lie about your skills you will be found out in the first 15 minutes and you must have your own basic tools.

but that is it.What i choose to do at lunch or after work on my time is my damn business and unless it impacts on me being able to do my job i owe no one an explanation.

And even then no.If you can't hang you are down the road and no negotiations.

get drunk after work ?

fine.

Can't get up in the morning or are so hung over you can't do your job ?

Not fine and see ya later bub.

but no man or woman tells me how to live my life unless they want me in theirs and by that i don't mean planning their menu !

Folks need to mind their own damn business and let people be to live their life or suffer the consequences when they push too hard or too far.
And just who is the "perfect one" to tell another what is corrct anyway ?

Land of the free my a*s

 

[RYCeT]

Damn, that's suck aeriyn, btw someday you might want to visit Sydney. You'll like it

 

[aeriyn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bong that's very very wrong... if that happened to me i would've beat the living crap out of the ex-boss.

Yes, but Alabama is a Right to Work state. They can get away with seriously abusing the anti-discrimination laws by simply lying.

 

[Jeff Guidry]

There are some who are free market absolutists that believe that you should be able to hire and fire people for any reason you see fit. While in theory this is a good idea, it allows people to unleash any form of personal pecadillo and make it company policy. Part of the reason racism, sexism and ageism have been muted in our society is because of labor laws. If people will not do the right thing of their own conscience, then sometimes the heavy hand of government regulation must come down.

IMO, if company policy changes, it ought not be retro-active in regards to personal, off-duty behavior, meaning, if the company did not have a no-smoking policy prior to a person being hired, they cannot be fired because of a change of policy. I think that it would be entirely reasonable to re-write labor laws to allow companies to drop high-risk employees from their insurance, or demand that they pay more to cover their own health expenses. That way, the punishment fits the 'crime'; you are losing the privledge of health care coverage, not losing your job. If a worker quits smoking and can prove it, then they can be re-admitted to the health care policy. Same with fat people (of which I am one).

One of the major cost of business is insuring employees, and for American business to stay competitive, spiraling healthcare costs will HAVE to be brought under control. If employees would take more pro-active steps to avoid getting sick in the first place (quitting smoking, losing weight), businessess can expand and thrive, and some small businessess that might not ever make it because of the crushing costs of healthcare could survive til they make a profit. Plus, that savings could go to better compensation to employees. I'd rather have a plasma TV now than to have a guaranteed respirator in the future...

 

[bong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aeriyn Yes, but Alabama is a Right to Work state. They can get away with seriously abusing the anti-discrimination laws by simply lying.

can i say my fist was lying as well?

i'm the most non-violent person i know (i've NEVER got into a serious fight), but it's these stories that boils my blood.