Perhaps JT said WACO because WEYCO would be giving away too much, too soon. I heard about this company in Michigan firing people because they smoked, even at home. But I didn't hear the name of the company read outloud until this morning. Either the reporter pronouced the name wrong or it sounds exactly like WACO.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050127/NEWS01/501270342/1001/news
I know it seems silly but smokers are pretty cranky people. If over the course of two years, every smoker in America lost there job. That would be choas. Watch out for this one.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050127/NEWS01/501270342/1001/news
Already hard-hit by high taxes on cigarettes and limits on places to puff, smokers in Michigan now face moves by some employers to either refuse to hire them, or in one case, to dismiss those who won't quit. And state law doesn't protect them.
That happened earlier this month when four employees at Okemos-based Weyco refused to take a test to determine whether they smoke. Weyco considers smoking - or refusing the test - to be a fireable offense.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan has decided not to challenge the move by Weyco, a medical benefits administrator, because there is no state law prohibiting employers from controlling behavior outside the workplace, ACLU spokeswoman Wendy Wagenheim said.
At least two dozen states do prevent "lifestyle discrimination," she said.
Michigan, with 1.9 million smokers and one of the highest cigarette taxes in the nation, has none of the "smokers' rights" laws found in 29 other states, so there isn't much that employees can do.
I know it seems silly but smokers are pretty cranky people. If over the course of two years, every smoker in America lost there job. That would be choas. Watch out for this one.