Hiring Smokers Banned In South Florida City

[DamianTV]

http://politics.slashdot.org/story/12/10/06/1334240/hiring-smokers-banned-in-south-florida-city?sdsrc=popbyskid


"On October 2, City Commissioners of Delray Beach finalized a policy which prohibits agencies from hiring employees who use tobacco products. Delray Beach isn't alone though; other Florida cities such as Hollywood and Hallandale Beach, require prospective employees to sign affidavits declaring themselves tobacco-free for 12 months prior to the date of application. Throughout the states, both government and businesses are moving to ban tobacco-use beyond working hours. Many medical facilities, e.g. hospitals, have implemented or intend to implement similar policies. In some more-aggressive environments referred to as nicotine-free, employee urine-samples can be taken and tested for any presence of nicotine, not excluding that from gum or patches. Employees testing positive can be terminated. Times do change, and adaptation is often a necessary burden. But have they changed so much that we'd now postpone the Manhattan project for 12 months because Oppenheimer had toked his pipe? Would we confine our vision to the Milky Way or snub the 1373 Cincinnati because Hubble smoked his? Would we shun relativity, or shelve the works of Tolkien because he and C. S. Lewis had done the same? If so, then where will it stop?"

[tod evans]

Assuring that government employees fit mandated social behavior regardless of legality of said behavior...

Next only Southern Baptists with life-long church affiliation may be hired by XYZ city....

[Working Poor]

fire everyone who eats aspartame and HFCS too.

[tod evans]

Mandatory SSRI levels required for all government employees.

Cholesterol levels strictly enforced and maximum BMI stipulated by position.

[Spikender]

The madness continues.

*Yawn* As usual...

[FrankRep]

Delray Beach, Florida Bans Hiring Of Smokers Or Tobacco Users To Save On Health Insurance (VIDEO)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/02/delray-beach-florida-bans_n_1933172.html


Huffington Post, NBC Miami
Jul 11, 2012



The ban is meant to help save the cash-strapped city on health insurance premium fees. Human Resources director Bruce Koeser told NBC 6 that each smoker costs an extra $12,000 (http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Delray-Beach-Considers-Hiring-Only-Non-Smokers--162055485.html) in health and disability-related costs.

"The idea came from our budget woes," City Commissioner Al Jacquet told WPTV. "This alone would help solve our issues."
...

But the nearby city of North Miami snuffed out their own ban from 1993 several years ago, finding it ultimately didn't save money and hindered recruitment. The city was also forced to fight a lawsuit from an employee who refused to sign an affidavit.
...

[acptulsa]

This one had me going for a second. I think '...banned by...' would have been the sentence structure, rather than '...banned in...' Its only city jobs smokers can't get.

Just another example of why it's bad to let insurance companies run the world, and worse to turn the government into a health insurance company. Nothing says slavery and tyranny like giving the government a fiscal stake in your body. The amazing part is they don't even wait until they've got socialized medicine up and running before they start making this plain by demonizing this person or that person, and flexing the new muscles. Is your neighbor fat? It doesn't matter if they've got any control over their weight, or have some genetic thing going like a bad thyroid. They could just have big bones. Who cares? Euthanize them!

"The idea came from our budget woes," City Commissioner Al Jacquet told WPTV. "This alone would help solve our issues."

This alone could help? This alone could help? This town is an idiotocracy. Of the idiots, by the idiots, for the idiots.

[Lucille]

How does this not violate the equal protection clause again?


If so, then where will it stop?

We all know where leftism ends. Totalitarianism, mass poverty, tears, and mounds of skulls. See the history of the world.

[specsaregood]

How does this not violate the equal protection clause again?


because smokers are not a protected group.

[Philhelm]

How does this not violate the equal protection clause again?



We all know where leftism ends. Totalitarianism, mass poverty, tears, and mounds of skulls. See the history of the world.

I'm imagining the scene in The Terminator in which the T-1000 steps on a human skull, crushing it.

[DamianTV]

When someone goes to Walmart to buy some fruts and vegetables, we want ones that are fresh, or almost ripe or ripe, but we dont want ones that are rotten, moldy, infested with bugs, or what ever number of reasons we wouldnt want to puchase a specific fruit or vegetable. Although in the long term, smokers cost insurance companies and employers less money by not living as long, it should be obvious their concern is not for our long term wellbeing as the lower costs of smokers would be considered as an offset of the total costs. Thus, it should be pretty damn obvious that WE are what is for sale. I'll sell you this healthy person, and once you are done with them and have used them up, you can dispose of them as you would any other piece of trash. We are being bought and sold and we receive no compensation for it. Articles like this only support the conclusion that this is what is happening to us.

[Jumbo Shrimp]

because smokers are not a protected group.

But a man who chops off his penis and gets breast implants is...

[James Madison]

But a man who chops of his penis and gets breast implants is...

Welcome to Amerika.

[LibForestPaul]

Wow. Florida...sure its not Cali?

[Anti Federalist]

Assuring that government employees fit mandated social behavior regardless of legality of said behavior...

Next only Southern Baptists with life-long church affiliation may be hired by XYZ city....

And there are plenty of short sighted people here that would claim that is perfectly within an employers right to do.

Of course, it's not, and the corporation can tyrannize you just as quick as government can.

[ronpaulfollower999]

My dad was telling me about this. He's so glad he quit working for the city of Delray about 10 years ago (he's a smoker).

[mad cow]

A private business should be able to hire you,not hire you or fire you for any reason or no reason whatsoever so long as they are not violating a contract between you and them.

Conversely,an employee should be able to quit his job at any time for any reason or no reason whatsoever so long as he is not violating a contract with his employer.
Anything less is slavery,on either end.

[AGRP]

Tobacco is going the way of marijuana where it will be an illegal substance. Just wait.

[Anti Federalist]

A private business should be able to hire you,not hire you or fire you for any reason or no reason whatsoever so long as they are not violating a contract between you and them.

Company X bans it's employees from "X", regardless of being on "company time" or not.

Company X, at the behest of it's mega-bankster backed insurance company demands that it place surveillance cameras in every room of every employee's home to monitor for compliance with company policies.

Company Y, Z and all the rest of the letters of the alphabet soon follow suit.

Result: you cannot hold a job, anywhere, for anybody, unless you consent to 24/7 in home surveillance to monitor for compliance at all times.

Sounds like slavery to me.

Or a maybe a polite form of indentured servitude.

[Anti Federalist]

Tobacco is going the way of marijuana where it will be an illegal substance. Just wait.

Just a matter of time.

Maybe ten years, maybe less.

[mad cow]

Company W doesn't pull that crap and has the cream of companies X,Y and Z employees to choose from.

[Anti Federalist]

Company W doesn't pull that crap and has the cream of companies X,Y and Z employees to choose from.

Company W goes bankrupt because it cannot purchase operating insurance ot get bonding through mega bankster insurance company.

[mad cow]

Insurance company B,noticing that company W is a good risk with an excellent history of paying it's bills and few claims because of it's hiring practices,sells it insurance.

[QuickZ06]

Tobacco is going the way of marijuana where it will be an illegal substance. Just wait.

I remember seeing Escape from L.A. for the first time and thought "cigarettes banned no way". Boy was I wrong.

[Anti Federalist]

Insurance company B,noticing that company W is a good risk with an excellent history of paying it's bills and few claims because of it's hiring practices,sells it insurance.

Stockholders of company B demand that B adopt the polices and "best standards" of X, Y and Z to shave every penny off overhead.

LOL.

I'm watching it unfold before my eyes right in my business.

An employer does not "own" people.

They have every right to demand adherence to company polices and standards while working.

They have no right to barge into your home and demand compliance while "off the clock".

[Anti Federalist]

I remember seeing Escape from L.A. for the first time and thought "cigarettes banned no way". Boy was I wrong.

I told the anti smoking creeps 30 years ago it would end up in prohibition.

They said I was crazy.

I told the seat belt Nazis there would be draconian fines and compliance roadblocks.

They said I was crazy.

[DamianTV]

So AF, what about Red Meat?

[mad cow]

If you leave government fiat out of the picture,I promise you that employees are going to flock to the companies that don't demand surveillance cameras in every room of their home and insurance companies will will try their best to sign up companies with few claims.

You bring government mandates on board?Yes any nightmare you could imagine is on the table,including de facto slavery.

Perhaps I should have prefaced my posts with "Barring fascist laws to the contrary,".

[Anti Federalist]

So AF, what about Red Meat?

Prohibited, comrade.

Your RFID encoded "HHS" card will block any purchases of red meat.

[Anti Federalist]

If you leave government fiat out of the picture,I promise you that employees are going to flock to the companies that don't demand surveillance cameras in every room of their home and insurance companies will will try their best to sign up companies with few claims.

But see, that's just it.

With freedom there will be claims.

Freedom means skiing accidents and motorcycle wrecks, and gun accidents, and smoker's cough and a million other things that make corporate bean counters lose their hair.

[mad cow]

But see, that's just it.

With freedom there will be claims.

Freedom means skiing accidents and motorcycle wrecks, and gun accidents, and smoker's cough and a million other things that make corporate bean counters lose their hair.

And they have every right to lose their hair and fire or not hire anybody they want for any reason.

However, the University that failed to hire smokers Albert Einstein or Robert Oppenheimer to head their physics department or the movie studio that fired John Wayne for smoking would lose out in the end.

[Anti Federalist]

And they have every right to lose their hair and fire or not hire anybody they want for any reason.

I disagree. That is the recipe for the meek, cloistered and just plain boring society that were creating right now.

Fun and liberty for the elites and lucky chosen ones, but little left for us mundanes.

Example: Red Bull sponsors the space jump.

But I'll guarantee as an employee, there are prohibitions and insurance exclusions against sky diving.


However, the University that failed to hire smokers Albert Einstein or Robert Oppenheimer to head their physics department or the movie studio that fired John Wayne for smoking would lose out in the end.

Been banned on pretty much every campus in the US.

[tod evans]

It would only seem right that smokers not be responsible for funding government or insurance companies who discriminate against them.

No taxes for smokers...:D

[mad cow]

Perhaps I just spent my career in a situation where there were no contracts or rules on what you could do on your off time and that colors my opinion.
Hiring someone for stupid reasons, 'yeah he's lazy,but he's my cousin' or firing someone for stupid reasons,where he would walk 2 boats down the dock and get a job and that captain would send you a 5th of whiskey in thanks,ended up with you getting punished for your stupidity.

Hiring,not hiring or firing somebody for smoking,what they did in their off time,race,creed,color,national origin etc.would cost you money.

Not being able to fire someone,today,right now,with no lawyers or bean counters involved could cost you more than that.

[Anti Federalist]

And I was in that world for years as well.

And trust me, and it pains me to no end to say it, we both are anachronisms.

I've spent the last fifteen years immersed in the corporate safety and control culture, and let me tell you my brother, all things considered, it wasn't worth.

And what I do is still considered pretty fringe and on the ragged edge, compared to the millions of poor bastards humping away in cubes every day.

Why do think "they" are working so hard to stamp people like you out?

They would happily erect a surveillance grid that would watch everybody if it shaved a half a point off overhead.


Perhaps I just spent my career in a situation where there were no contracts or rules on what you could do on your off time and that colors my opinion.
Hiring someone for stupid reasons, 'yeah he's lazy,but he's my cousin' or firing someone for stupid reasons,where he would walk 2 boats down the dock and get a job and that captain would send you a 5th of whiskey in thanks,ended up with you getting punished for your stupidity.

Hiring,not hiring or firing somebody for smoking,what they did in their off time,race,creed,color,national origin etc.would cost you money.

Not being able to fire someone,today,right now,with no lawyers or bean counters involved could cost you more than that.

[DamianTV]

Here is whats sad, and how we turn on ourselves.

We, the Ron Paul Community, including people like myself, Anti Federalist, and others use the words "They" kind of frequently without saying who "They" are specifically. Do you want to know who these greedy selfish self centered mother fuckers are that demand higher and higher profit margins? Who "They" are that insist on the largest marginal returns on their investments, regardless of who is affected? "They" are us! Those of us who have (had) 401K plans, and pensions, and retirement accounts. "They" are those of us who served in the US Military. "They" are our parents. Our neighbors. Our friends. They are the clerk at the local stores that are still in business that become familar faces. "They" all have all been tricked into believing their financial benefit can come at the price of taking away everything from someone else. "They" insist that spanking children should be outlawed. "They" insist that you stop smoking. And because of the Socialistic Nature of the situation, they feel that they have a right to do so. Since your actions are directly affecting "Their" retirement accounts, they feel that the effects your actions have on their retirement accounts gives them the right to interfere in EVERY aspect of your life, not just smoking, not just spanking your children, not just your alcohol consumption, but every single aspect of your life, down to how many sheets of toilet paper you use when you wipe your ass. "They" all feel that they have a right to do this, but when you tell them to mind their own business, "They" call you a "kook", a "privacy nut", a "loon", an "extremist", and "a danger to society by being a danger to ones self". Who are "They"? Look in the mirror. They are you. They are me. They are us. We are the ones that post in threads like Outlaw Spanking Your Kids, and Outlawing Gay Marriage threads. We are the ones that demand government solve our problems, and our government is more than happy to oblige, for a small price, of course. If we really want to get Govt out of our lives, we better shape up or ship the fuck out to Russia and China.

[tod evans]

This is really good!



Here is whats sad, and how we turn on ourselves.

We, the Ron Paul Community, including people like myself, Anti Federalist, and others use the words "They" kind of frequently without saying who "They" are specifically. Do you want to know who these greedy selfish self centered mother fuckers are that demand higher and higher profit margins? Who "They" are that insist on the largest marginal returns on their investments, regardless of who is affected? "They" are us! Those of us who have (had) 401K plans, and pensions, and retirement accounts. "They" are those of us who served in the US Military. "They" are our parents. Our neighbors. Our friends. They are the clerk at the local stores that are still in business that become familar faces. "They" all have all been tricked into believing their financial benefit can come at the price of taking away everything from someone else. "They" insist that spanking children should be outlawed. "They" insist that you stop smoking. And because of the Socialistic Nature of the situation, they feel that they have a right to do so. Since your actions are directly affecting "Their" retirement accounts, they feel that the effects your actions have on their retirement accounts gives them the right to interfere in EVERY aspect of your life, not just smoking, not just spanking your children, not just your alcohol consumption, but every single aspect of your life, down to how many sheets of toilet paper you use when you wipe your ass. "They" all feel that they have a right to do this, but when you tell them to mind their own business, "They" call you a "kook", a "privacy nut", a "loon", an "extremist", and "a danger to society by being a danger to ones self". Who are "They"? Look in the mirror. They are you. They are me. They are us. We are the ones that post in threads like Outlaw Spanking Your Kids, and Outlawing Gay Marriage threads. We are the ones that demand government solve our problems, and our government is more than happy to oblige, for a small price, of course. If we really want to get Govt out of our lives, we better shape up or ship the fuck out to Russia and China.