Job pissing on my rug

[Tao Dude]

I'm a employee at a hospital in Garland, TX, and they're on a health kick now. They won't hire anyone who smokes and if your a current employee who smokes, and are on their health insurance plan, your gonna have to pay an extra $25 each paycheck. Does anyone know if they're allowed to do that?

[meekon5]

Tao Dude this is really complicated your best bet is to take proper advice from a no-win no-fee lawyer type person.

You may find the health plan increase is to do with the insurance side which is one contract, it just happens to be in line with your employers attitude.

This is really a job for the union and/or an employment law specialist in your area of employment.

[Tripnastic]

They are allowed to do this Dude.  Smokers aren't a "protected group" in the view of the US government.  My wife has her Ph.D. in I/O psychology (business psychology) and she actually teaches a class on this sort of thing at a local University to the MBA students.  

It's surprising what employers are allowed to do, and who aren't considered protected groups sometimes.  For instance, homosexual's aren't a protected group in the US.  An employer could say they don't want to hire anyone gay, and it would be legal.  Probably business suicide, but legal.

[Tao Dude]

It's not enough we got to pay a, what's it called sin tax I think, on cigarettes. Now I got to pay my job so I can smoke WTF!?!? That's not cool how they can discriminate against groups like that, soon you'll have to pay an extra fee because your over weight or as my job would put it "unhealthy".

[DigitalBuddha]

I'm a employee at a hospital in Garland, TX, and they're on a health kick now. They won't hire anyone who smokes and if your a current employee who smokes, and are on their health insurance plan, your gonna have to pay an extra $25 each paycheck. Does anyone know if they're allowed to do that?

They can do anything unless someone or some group of people stop them. A friend of mine likes to say "don't agonize, ORGANIZE!"

[Tao Dude]

Your right but it's hard to get people motivated, especially when your job is on the line.

[DigitalBuddha]

Your right but it's hard to get people motivated, especially when your job is on the line.

That can be a problem, true; getting canned for fucking with the company store, but if you do nothing, they will continue to act in the unfair manner that they are. I guess I would say that in this case pick your battles wisely and ask yourself is it worth the risk. Only you can answer that for yourself. Positive vibes your way, man.

[Tao Dude]

Thanks DB as always you are very insightful. I'll see what I can do from my end.

[DigitalBuddha]

Thanks DB as always you are very insightful. I'll see what I can do from my end.

You're welcome dude. Hope all works out well for you.

[cckeiser]

Dude?? Have you considered stop smoking cigarettes? It's really not that hard to do...just quit. I did back in July of 2009 after 43 years of smoking 30 to 40 cigarettes a day.
I just quit one day and that was that. It's only hard if you think it will be hard...it's not...in fact it was easy.
Just do it. Save yourself a lot of grief.
Believe me...I know.

[DigitalBuddha]

Dude?? Have you considered stop smoking cigarettes? It's really not that hard to do...just quit. I did back in July of 2009 after 43 years of smoking 30 to 40 cigarettes a day.
I just quit one day and that was that. It's only hard if you think it will be hard...it's not...in fact it was easy.
Just do it. Save yourself a lot of grief.
Believe me...I know.

Fucking eh, Dude like advice.

[Tao Dude]

Yeah I did think about that, but still it's not right what they are doing to us. Everyone at the hospital works hard, I mean very hard. We're supposed to treat the patients like they're guest at a hotel (which don't get me wrong it cool because they're there because they're sick and should be treated well), we get a lot of grief from Administration (which is full of people who have never taken care of patients), and we basically have more gutters than strikes. All we want to do is unwind with a cigarette on our break. We all know the risk of smoking, but we still choose to smoke. As long as we don't break any laws isn't it our choice how we live our lives. We shouldn't get penalized for that, right?

[Tripnastic]

I feel you Tao Dude.  I'm a nurse myself, and went into administration for a few years.  I went back to be just a regular nurse.  I couldn't deal with the way decisions were made with a "they'll just have to deal with it" attitude towards employees.

[cckeiser]

Yeah I did think about that, but still it's not right what they are doing to us. Everyone at the hospital works hard, I mean very hard. We're supposed to treat the patients like they're guest at a hotel (which don't get me wrong it cool because they're there because they're sick and should be treated well), we get a lot of grief from Administration (which is full of people who have never taken care of patients), and we basically have more gutters than strikes. All we want to do is unwind with a cigarette on our break. We all know the risk of smoking, but we still choose to smoke. As long as we don't break any laws isn't it our choice how we live our lives. We shouldn't get penalized for that, right?

Yeah, I hear you dude...and I feel for you too. I know what it was like when my company went non-smoking out of the blue. They just decided it was better for their bottom line cause their insurance would be a lot less. We union workers paid a heavy price while the administrators could walk out of the plant any time they felt like it.
It caused so much trouble with workers hiding for a smoke they finally put in a little bus stop like shed (unheated of course) so we could smoke during our regular break periods.
I retired in August 2008 and quit smoking in July 2009. Now I wish I had quit a lot sooner.
Sooner or later you are going to quit smoking tobacco...might as well make it sooner than later.
But I know how you feel dude...I'm just saying.

I would much prefer to see people smoke pot than tobacco dude...no one ever got lung cancer from smoking pot.

[apnp]

I dunno, ...don't spit into the wind...?