Whirlpool plant suspends 39 workers for lying about smoking

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/042208/loc_20080422300.shtml



It seems that they got fired for lying about smoking and not the smoking itself.

...probably not, but PROVE it...

who fall off the wagon when they're stressed or drunk and find themselves back to three packs a day within a week.

It seems the burden of proof is on the company, although they can reasonably say the workers should have corrected the policy when they restarted smoking.

with insurance companies these days, anything can get you disqualified, if you omit it
on your pre-conditions checklist. Wasn't there a woman who was recently disqualified
for having been treated for a yeast infection 20 years ago?

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

:grr: :grr::grr:

:hi:

Yea, I know the company saves a bucketload of money on health insurance by doing so but the fact of the matter is that smoking is a legal activity and there should be an expectation that a certain percentage of employees indulge, just as there's an expectation that some will drink too much or participate in risky sports or live in areas with high air or water contaminant levels. I'm in favor of positive measures to help employees lower their contributions to the risk pool but punitive measures will always backfire.

The reality is that with a $500 disincentive Whirlpool didn't reduce employee smoking as much as they thought they would. Next year they'll probably require lung function tests before employees qualify for the lower premium rates.

any company which charges or penalizes any employee in any way (including higher insurance premiums) for doing anything off the premises which is otherwise legal should owe those employees pay for a 24/7/365 workweek, including overtime and out-of-schedule, night, and Sunday premiums (if applicable) retroactive to the date the policy was initiated.

Off-the-clock means OFF THE DAMN CLOCK. If they want their employees to "live right", they should have to pay them for their time. If that includes their personal time on days off or at home, it means a 24/7 workweek, period.

About 25 years ago, I went to a gaming convention in Evansville. (Dungeons & Dragons, folks, not keno.) I was shocked at the way the area around the big hotel in town (the Executive Inn) looked. You could have thrown a hand grenade into the middle of the downtown streets and nobody would be hurt.

It was a pretty town, located along a riverbank, looking even friendlier than my native Saint Louis. And it was dying even then because of megacorporate greed and short-sightedness. I can't imagine what it looks like after NAFTA and Bush.