Indiana Seeks to Allow Hiring Bans on Smokers

                As of right now, if you live in the state of Indiana and you’re looking for a job, potential employers cannot tell you to stop smoking cigarettes in order to be fired. You know, because this is America and we believe in freedom to choose and act (at least, sometimes we do). Well, in Indiana that may be changing.

                The Indiana Chamber of Commerce it pushing for lawmakers to pass Indiana House Bill 1029. That bill would effectively eliminate the “smokers’ bill of rights” law that was approved in the early 1990s. If the bill gets passed, prospective employers would legally be allowed to require job-seekers to stop using tobacco products at all times as a condition of their employment. Now, the key there (in case you missed the bold italicized words) is that the smoking ban does not just apply to an employee’s time on the clock or on company property, but also during their private off the clock hours.

                You may think that the passing of Indiana House Bill 1029 is not a big deal because smoking is bad for your health anyways, but I assure you that it’s a very big deal. This bill would take away an employee’s right to use a legal product during their own personal time and even in their own home. If a bill like that gets passed, what’s to stop them from passing a similar bill regarding alcohol? No longer could you have that celebratory glass of champagne or that refreshing beer with your burger. Maybe they’ll decide that television isn’t good for your brain and that it dumbs down the workforce, so they won’t let you watch television as a condition of employment. It may seem silly and far fetched, but it isn’t really. This is how it starts. They take away one right today and tomorrow another and the next day another, until we have no rights left to take.

                Now, employers are surely going to try to put a spin on this whole situation and say that they just want their employees to be healthy. Well isn’t that just dandy? They don’t care if you’re healthy for any moral or compassionate reason. The only reason employers want you healthy is to keep health care costs down. The cheaper you are to cover, the less money they spend. For those of you who can’t add, that means you’re cheaper to employee if you don’t smoke. Opponents of the bill understand a company wanting to prevent employees from smoking at work, but believe that the decision of what they do on their own time should be up to them. And to that I say cheers!

                One good thing that has come of this is that I learned of the National Workrights Institute. They’re a nonprofit offshoot of the ACLU and they oppose these types of hiring bans because they infringe on individual rights. That’s pretty legit. Any organization that stands up for individual rights is aces in my book. Now let's see what can be done about this bullshit bill...

 

Forever Yours,

-le Absurdist

 

** Information used in this post came from the USA Today article by Barb Berggoetz; Bill would repeal 'smokers' bill of rights'**