My employer's gone back to allowing smoking.

December 2, 2007 1:54 PM

My employer has decided to become a smoking facility. What do I do?

I got a job about 2 months ago. The building smelled like smoke, so I asked... they said just a few months before, they'd decided to become a nonsmoking facility. Now, they've decided to let the 2 smokers in the building smoke inside. The company is only 10 employees, and the building only has one room (besides the bathroom), so it affects everyone.

Now, last summer our city passed a non-smoking ordinance, but the boss had told me when I was hired that since they are outside the city limits, they're exempt. I really can't afford to quit. I don't want to be around smoke for health reasons, as well as I hate that I stink when I leave work. Other than trying to look for a new job, what can I do?

posted by IndigoRain to law & government (18 comments total)

Figure out who in your city enforces the ban within city limits (health department? OSHA office?). Call them and ask whether you are really outside city limits. Then ask if they have any advice about what you can do, or who you would talk to in the county govt or whatever the relevant local government is for the area where your work really is.
posted by LobsterMitten at 2:01 PM on December 2, 2007

Something additionally unpleasant to think about while you ponder this (sorry!): in a workplace of only ten people, many of whom seem to be okay with the smoking environment -- or are at least willing to go along to get along -- it likely won't be a secret that it is you rocking the boat, should you decide to take action. Since smoking seems to be a fairly big issue around your workplace ("we're smoking, we're non, we're smoking again, we investigated the loopholes," etc), you could be exposing yourself to repercussions and retaliation.

You say you can't afford to quit, but can you afford to remain in a workplace where everyone is either angry at you for taking away their precious smoking, or for causing trouble, or both?

I'm not advocating no action; you have to do what you have to do, and going to your boss sounds like what you have to do. But he/she might be unhappy about it. Maybe you could avoid that by doing some sort of end-run -- an anonymous letter to a local TV station... a call to your local chapter of the American Cancer Society or other health watchdog... something that might take the problem out of your hands and make it someone else's.

Another factor to consider: OSHA regulations are federal, and take precedent over regional or local laws in most cases. Just because your company is outside the scope of the city ordinance doesn't necessarily mean they aren't subject to standard federal workplace regulations. It's been a couple of years since I looked at the OSHA laws re smoking, but to my recollection they give very, very few exemptions for workplaces.... mostly only to small businesses in the food and beverage industry.
posted by pineapple at 2:22 PM on December 2, 2007

I'm not even close to an expert, but i think the clear indoor air acts predate the anti smoking laws. Maybe it's ok to let them smoke, but it's NOT ok to not have clean indoor air. The cheapest way to fix that is prevent the indoor smoking. Next would be an expensive air cleaning system. I doubt the company wants to spend money to allow 2 employees to keep smoking.
posted by thilmony at 2:40 PM on December 2, 2007

Yep. Your state (Indiana, if your profile is correct) doesn't require your boss to provide you with a smoke-free environment.

This PDF seems a good summary of city/county laws that may apply (and who to call about them)

Are there ionizers/smoke eaters near the smokers? These can help a lot, but won't eliminate the problem. Ultimately, though, if your office really is outside of a jurisdiction covered by a ban, and your boss is unwilling to limit smoking in your one room office, then you should probably tell your boss that you're looking for another job...
posted by toxic at 3:04 PM on December 2, 2007

OSHA regulations are federal

There is no federal workplace smoking ban.

OSHA considered adding anti-smoking clauses to the workplace regulations for years. In 2001, when the administration changed over, all efforts to this end were killed.
posted by toxic at 3:06 PM on December 2, 2007

Can you at least insist that they give you some kind of air purifier, or install smoke-eaters in the area where the smokers go? I have no idea whether those "ionic breeze" things work, but, if they do, maybe you could get one for your desk and submit the bill.
posted by bink at 3:12 PM on December 2, 2007

Nthing figuring out if they really are outside the limits and exempt through a loophole and pursuing the ban.

can you afford to remain in a workplace where everyone is either angry at you for taking away their precious smoking, or for causing trouble, or both?

This is second grade behavior, and any respectable adult wouldn't engage in it.

Why should two people get to impose themselves upon 8 anyhow?
posted by cmgonzalez at 3:26 PM on December 2, 2007

One time I asked my boss to vaccuum (I had been looking at the same bits of god knows what on the rugs for months).

Instead of vaccuuming he added to the company FAQ online that they offer "clean work facilities".

I guess my advice is talk to your boss, and then start looking for a new job.
posted by shownomercy at 3:35 PM on December 2, 2007

>>can you afford to remain in a workplace where everyone is either angry at you for taking away their precious smoking, or for causing trouble, or both?

>This is second grade behavior, and any respectable adult wouldn't engage in it. Why should two people get to impose themselves upon 8 anyhow?

cmgonzalez, if you're serious, I would ask whether you've ever worked for a small business or in a small office. People act petty and immature in office workplaces all the time. A company that can't commit to a policy regarding secondhand smoke is likely not all that committed to HR best practices anyway. And two people impose themselves on eight when they're protected by management or are managers themselves.
posted by pineapple at 4:19 PM on December 2, 2007

See if you can have the ceiling tile pulled back a bit over the smokers' desks. The return air in many buildings is in that little vent near the ceiling tiles and if you crank a tile to the side it is like a gentle exhaust fan. The guy sitting kitty corner from me in a cube farm literally lit one cig off another and I barely ever smelled it when they did this. He was also pretty considerate to blow the smoke away from his neighbors.
posted by caddis at 4:22 PM on December 2, 2007

Thanks. That PDF showed me who I can call... guess I'll be making that call tomorrow to ask if we really are outside city limits. It is, after all, the majority of us who are not smokers. One of the girls was previously standing in the doorway with the door open to smoke, which I was about to say something to the boss anyways - when it's 30 degrees and windy outside she really can't freeze the rest of us out like that.
posted by IndigoRain at 5:36 PM on December 2, 2007

fructose, one of my clients allowed smoking in their office until an indoor smoking ban was passed in their city, perhaps because they had reasonably well separated work spaces, so the smoke didn't affect everyone. A couple of the partner's offices even had air purifiers, although not all did.

I didn't have a problem with it, but I've never been one to impose my choice of non-smoking on others, nor do I have a problem being around smoke on an occasional basis.

Another of my clients has had a long standing non-smoking policy.

What I don't get is why an employee would want the office to be smoking-allowed. I'd much rather have a complete break by going outside. All the better that the rules say I have to!

As far as working around the problem, the OP should get an ionizer, unless there's an allergy it'll be enough to cut down on both the smoke itself and the lingering smell. One of my friends is a heavy smoker who lives with another heavy smoker. Needless to say his house is almost always thick with smoke. When they had a working ionizer (it crapped out from too much abuse after about a year, probably because it came from Wal-Mart) the haze was nonexistent and the smell vastly reduced. Without it, it's basically constantly cloudy.

That would be a problem for me if I found the smell of cigarette smoke incredibly offensive or if I constantly had to deal with smoking nazis. Luckily, I get to choose who I work for and who I associate with, so I have sucessfully eliminated such intolerance from my life.
posted by wierdo at 6:21 PM on December 2, 2007

Your best bet is to set up an air purifier at your desk.

You don't have the right to stop a private employer from providing any sort of (legal) work environment they please, no matter how much it offends you.

Despite the fact that you most definitely can't force this private employer to change their policies to suit your sensibilities, you may be able to work within the framework. You could ask the other non-smokers how they feel about the situation, and if they feel similarly indignant you could approach the boss en mass to convince him to change his/her mind. Similarly, you could try to convince the smokers to do you all a favor and smoke outside. If you do either, be careful to be as nice as you possibly can. Creating a hostile or uncomfortable work environment is a serious issue.
posted by Willie0248 at 6:23 PM on December 2, 2007

There is only one way to guarantee that your employer won't be able to completely ignore the health and safety of the majority of his/her workforce. Organize a union.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 6:43 PM on December 2, 2007

cmgonzalez, if you're serious, I would ask whether you've ever worked for a small business or in a small office.

Yes, I am serious. My longest job was spent working in a six-person office, so I'm quite familiar with such an environment. Petty behavior sometimes happens, sure, but there's still no excuse for it, hence my comment about no respectable adult engaging in such.

Of course managers can sometimes impose upon others, sometimes rather unfairly (pulling rank for shallow purposes is also quite immature) but the 'warning' about not stirring the pot, so to speak, struck me as: 1) not a relevant response to the asker's question, and 2) a description of utterly childish behavior.

On topic, good luck with the calls, IndigoRain. If you are inside city limits and not exempt, then I think what Willie0248 suggested about possibly banding together with the other nonsmokers to request the office remain smoke free is a good idea.
posted by cmgonzalez at 8:43 PM on December 2, 2007

You took the job with the expectation that it would be a no-smoking facility. Legally this probably means squat (at least where you live) but morally, you might be able to guilt your boss into providing air purifiers.
posted by happyturtle at 11:40 PM on December 2, 2007

So sorry you're dealing with this. It's especially a shame that your boss has caved--studies show that smoking restrictions help people to cut down and even quit smoking, improving their health while not endangering others.

Smokefree Indiana works on these issues; contact them and ask your question. They'll know the law inside out, and maybe you can get involved in helping to change the law to make it stronger.
posted by Riverine at 7:01 PM on December 4, 2007

Followup: Turns out the other nonsmokers feel the same way. Problem solved - we're nonsmoking again. :)
posted by IndigoRain at 9:00 PM on December 6, 2007