Four employees of Weyco, a Michigan-based healthcare company, lost their jobs when they refused to take a test to determine if they were smokers. Weyco launched a policy that prohibits its employees from smoking – even during their off-hours. The company executives claim that their aim is to keep health benefit costs low and to help their employees quit smoking. However, the opponents of this policy argue that it is a violation of employees’ rights. If the company wins a legal challenge, it will set a precedent for other companies to implement similar policies.
Weyco gave its employees an ultimatum to quit smoking by January 1 or leave the company. The four employees who refused to take the test quit their jobs willingly, but a spokesperson for Weyco confirmed that the company, in fact, was planning to dismiss them. The company argues that if their job is to help other companies save money on healthcare expenses, it is only right that they set an example by implementing the no-smoking rule. In a message posted on the company web site, Weyco President Howard Weyers, strongly supported the policy: “For every smoker who quits because of it, there will be many people – family members, friends, co-workers – who are very thankful the person won’t be going to an early grave.”
However, opponents maintain that this policy infringes on workers’ rights to indulge in any habits they like when they are away from their workplace, especially since smoking is not illegal and does not affect a person’s performance at work. “Certainly it raises an interesting boundary issue: rising healthcare costs and society’s aversion to smoking versus the privacy and freedom rights of an individual,” John Challenger, a job placement specialist, told Reuters news agency.