Old Smoke
Dustin McCabe
BUS309-011016
11/27/2011

Old Smoke
Employee rights arise from federal and state laws that overtime, have established various rules that govern the employer – employee relationship (definitions.uslegal.com, 2011). It includes the right to privacy and freedom from discrimination based on age, gender, race, national origin or religion (employment.findlaw.com, 2011). Having employee rights ensures equal opportunity for all employees, as well as, it makes the employee feel comfortable in their work environment. Protecting employees rights benefit both the employees and the business by limiting the misunderstanding that may occur in the work place. I In this paper, I will explain how I would handle the situation if I were Charles Renfold, describe the policy on smoking that I would recommend, explain how this case would change if the situation was not about old smoke but the smell of Alice’s perfume or Frank’s body odor and explain whether it is fair or reasonable to ban employees from smoking in their cars in company parking lot.
Explain how you would handle this situation if you were Charles Renfold.
Mr. Renford had already explained that the law in their state requires a smoke free work area and that his area was smoke free. That Alice and Frank were always considerate when Darlene comes into the file room by not smoking and opening the windows. Darlene is being insubordinate by dictating what she will not do to her supervisor, which cannot be allowed. Mr. Renford must inform Darlene Lambert that her behavior is not exceptable therefore; she is setting herself up to be suspended or possibly fired. She was hired to do a job and he expects her to do it. The company felt that making the smokers go outside will harm productivity and moral because the file room is their primary work area, they were allowed to smoke in the there.
Mr. Renford should tell Ms. Lambert there is a report that has to be done immediately and he needs her to start assembling the data that are in the file room. Because she had not brought the order of old smoke smell to his attention before and because the company has followed all the laws that are set by the state and the state has no reference to the smell of old smoke; there is nothing he can do at the moment. Also he has to take into consideration the employees that do smoke.

Describe the policy on smoking that you would recommend to Redwood Associates. If Redwood Associates is going to allow employees to smoke within the building, they should have a designated area where the smokers can complete their duties without offending non-smokers with cigarette smoke or stale smoke odor while maintaining their productivity and still be able to smoke. Alice and Frank should be put in a separate office that is well ventilated and with windows if possible. Redwood Associates should have the file room painted in order to get rid of the old smoke smell. Taking these step will help with moral of other employees as well as the production in the work place.
In Florida, for example, the law prohibits smoking in all enclosed indoor workplaces (except private residences and bars). I would recommend that Frank and Alice smoke outside the office in a designated allocated for smoking. It is not healthy for employees or anybody to inhale second hand some. Using my job as an example all smokers have to go outside and smoke no matter whether conditions, to avoid harmful smoke inhalation. We even use special ashtrays to avoid harmful disposal.

Explain how this case would change if what bothers Darlene is not old smoke but the smell of Alice’s perfume or Frank’s body odor. If what bothered Darlene was the perfume, I would take on a different approach. First and foremost, there are not laws or OSHA regulations for wearing too much perfume or someone’s body odor. We actually had a situation like this regarding someone body odor. He had a strong odor and it was hard for his co-workers to work with him. The employee is a hearing impaired employee, so that made it even more challenging. We had to get a translator involved, employee’s manger and Human Recourses. We reiterated to the employee that in his employee hand book he had a policy explained the importance of cleanliness; he must come to work clean and groomed

Explain whether it is fair or reasonable for companies to ban employees from smoking in their cars in the company parking lot.

References
Shaw, W. (2010). Business ethics: A textbook with cases. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.