Mass. employee smoking over firing

December 11, 2006

A Massachusetts man has filed a lawsuit against The Scotts Co., alleging the lawn and garden company violated his privacy and civil rights when it fired him because he smokes.

Scott Rodrigues, of Bourne, claims he was fired from his job after a drug test came up positive for nicotine.

He claims the company violated his rights found under the Massachusetts Privacy Statute, which bars the unreasonable, substantial or serious interference of privacy, and other state law.

The Scotts Co., a subsidiary of Scotts-Miracle Gro Co. of Marysville, Ohio, has a policy forbidding smoking by employees as a way to promote healthy lifestyles and hold down insurance costs. In the 20 states that allow it, including Massachusetts, the company refuses to hire smokers and tests all new employees for nicotine, according to Jim King, vice president for corporate communications. King said all new employees are told they must be tobacco-free and are told they will be tested for nicotine.

Rodrigues said he never smoked during work or while on break. “I didn’t think you couldn’t smoke at home,” he said.

Rodrigues’ lawyer, Harvey Schwartz, said the case goes beyond smokers’ rights. If this practice stands, employers could dictate other aspects of their workers’ lives, he said.

“They can say you don’t exercise enough. We want every employee to attend a health club, and we’re going to check your attendance record there,” Schwartz said.

But Boston attorney Denise Murphy said Scotts has a legitimate business reason for not hiring smokers. “If they do that for everyone, and that’s their policy, I don’t see anything illegal about it,” she said.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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