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Company fires smoking employees

Weyco Inc., an employee-benefits administrator in Michigan, USA, has terminated employees for smoking—at work or in their private time. The company randomly tested its employees for nicotine in their blood or urine and fired any employees whose tests came back positive.

Weyco had been strengthening its anti-tobacco policy for several years. The company says that it is trying to contain rising healthcare costs.

The company has been criticized by workers’ rights associations for discrimination. Kary Moss, director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, says, “When an employer tries to deal with healthcare costs by selecting or promoting employees based on their nonwork-related qualifications or qualities, you’re really entering a slippery slope.”