Forums
Employee Odor Sensitive
Legal Forum
Employee Odor Sensitive
Discuss employment-law issues such as family leave, overtime, disabilities law, harassment, immigration and termination.
Just received a fax from one of our employees (office os 10 peole) from her doctor advising us that she is very sensitive to perfume & odors. Apparently she gets bad congestion and her mouth swell
0
Cat:Topic ForumsForum:ForumId54
Cat:Topic ForumsForum:ForumId54Discussion:DiscussionId37104
Forums » Topic Forums » Legal Forum » Employee Odor Sensitive
|
Employee Odor Sensitive
posted at 8/15/2011 9:36 AM EDT
|
Posts: 11
First: 12/16/2009 Last: 8/15/2011 |
Just received a fax from one of our employees (office os 10 peole) from her doctor advising us that she is very sensitive to perfume & odors. Apparently she gets bad congestion and her mouth swells up. She just came on board with us on 6-13-11 and this is the first I've heard of this. Doctor says we need to provide her with an odor free environment. Have any of you had to deal with this? All I can think of is to make the company all equal and not allows perfumes and/or after shaves? Your input would be appreciated. thank you. |
|
|
Employee Odor Sensitive
posted at 8/15/2011 9:54 AM EDT
|
|
Posts: 2442
First: 2/12/2000 Last: 9/14/2011 |
Just fire her. Easier than making everyone else miserable.....
Ok I guess we can't do that. See this article: Employers Have Options When Accommodating Fragrance Sensitivities 6/15/2011 By Allen Smith An increasing number of individuals with medical conditions that make them fragrance- or irritant-sensitive might be covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as a result of the ADA Amendments Act, according to Jonathan Mook, an attorney with DiMuroGinsberg in Alexandria, Va. âThe ADA Amendments Act has changed the standards for disability so that it is much lower,â he remarked. âHence, an increasing number of individuals with medical conditions that make them fragrance- or irritant-sensitive may now be covered by the ADA as having an actual disability and entitled to reasonable accommodation.â He recommended that employers receiving requests for scent- or irritant-free environments âconsider the request, analyze the difficulties of implementing the request or alternative ways to satisfy the employeeâs concerns, and if the request will not be easy to implement, obtain sufficient medical information from the employee to determine whether or not the employee actually comes within the ADA âdisabilityâ definition.â Scent-Reducing Accommodations An employer might want to adopt a light-fragrance policy for its employees, for example. âEmployees using heavy perfumes can be an irritant and distracting to co-workers whether or not they are disabled, and a light-fragrance environment may make the working conditions better for all employees,â Mook remarked. Courts that have considered the issue have said that employers are not required to institute completely scent-free workplaces, nor need employers bar workers from using perfumes or other scents, he said. Thereâs a good chance that an accommodation request is unreasonable if it is for an irritant-free environment, agreed John Berg, an attorney with Fisher & Phillips in Chicago. And the person might not have an ADA disability, but it is much easier to prove disability under the ADA Amendments Act, he added. âHowever, an employer certainly can request that a co-worker not use a particular fragrance because it is irritating to other employees or to not use heavy perfume,â Mook told SHRM Online. âIf an employer requests a particular employee or employees to stop using perfume or cologne because it bothers a co-worker, the employer should not mention the co-workerâs name, but rather reference the general workplace environment,â he added. The irritant might not be fragrances, but instead chemicals in the carpeting, he noted. âAn employer may need to contact an environmental expert who might give some suggestions about creating a sufficiently irritant-free environment for the employee to work. However, generally, the courts have been reluctant to mandate an employer to totally eliminate irritants from an employeeâs work environment,â he observed. The irritant instead might be popcorn or some other food whose smell triggers an allergic reaction, said David Fram, director of ADA and EEO services at the National Employment Law Institute. âThereâs no federal right to make microwave popcorn,â he remarked. Other Options One option to making a change to the scents in the workplace might be telecommuting, Fram observed. Telecommuting might have to be considered as a possible reasonable accommodation even if there is a corporate policy of not letting individuals work at home. The ADA might require the employer to second-guess the policy and consider whether an exception needs to be made, he said. Under the ADA, an employer is not obligated to choose the best accommodation or the one sought by the employee, reminded Laura Worsinger, an attorney with Dykema in Los Angeles. âRather, the employer has the ultimate discretion to choose among effective accommodations.â Another option might be to give an employee with a chemical sensitivity permission to call in to meetings that someone with an offending fragrance attends, Berg noted. âThe key is to be creative,â he said. âWith chemical sensitivities, there are a lot of options.â Allen Smith, J.D., is SHRMâs manager of workplace law content. |
|
|
Employee Odor Sensitive
posted at 8/18/2011 11:46 AM EDT
|
|
Posts: 43
First: 10/14/2000 Last: 8/18/2011 |
Generally, to refuse an optimal accommodation and insist on something that doesn't really work sends a message to the employee with the disability about exactly how much they are valued; you can expect the predictable level of effort and loyalty as a result. And you deserve it. |
|
|
Employee Odor Sensitive
posted at 8/18/2011 2:15 PM EDT
|
|
Posts: 32
First: 1/31/2011 Last: 9/13/2011 |
Hi:
The question states: (office of 10 people). Strictly from a legal perspective if the company doesn't have 15 employees, than the ADA doesn't apply---however, state protections may have a lower threshold regarding the number of employees. Dave Arnold, Ph.D., J.D. |
|
|
Employee Odor Sensitive
posted at 8/18/2011 4:13 PM EDT
|
|
Posts: 1103
First: 3/16/2007 Last: 8/19/2011 |
"Generally, to refuse an optimal accommodation and insist on something that doesn't really work sends a message to the employee with the disability about exactly how much they are valued; you can expect the predictable level of effort and loyalty as a result. And you deserve it. "
Actually, if an employer refuses a so called "optimal accommodation" it may have good cause. So its reward could be that a disgruntled entitlement minded employee leaves. |
|
|
Employee Odor Sensitive
posted at 8/18/2011 7:11 PM EDT
|
|
Posts: 43
First: 10/14/2000 Last: 8/18/2011 |
The issue isn't "entitlement oriented." The issue is that a suboptimal accommodation leads in many cases to hindering the employee's ability to be productive. I've seen that happen many times, and given that the employer invested in the hiring and training costs, it is really a dumb thing to do. It costs the employer a lot of money, since they have to then go and hire someone else. |
|
|
Employee Odor Sensitive
posted at 8/19/2011 6:41 AM EDT
|
|
Posts: 544
First: 9/27/2004 Last: 9/13/2011 |
Agree that it is better one than an entire team, but there is a social learning component about fairness perceptions we should always be aware of. Team members are more likely be sympathetic to the causes of other team members than they are of management needs.
|
|
|
Employee Odor Sensitive
posted at 8/23/2011 5:55 AM EDT
|
|
Posts: 3
First: 11/16/2010 Last: 8/23/2011 |
We also faced this problem. Our receptionist has allergies and asthma and would lose time from work after exposure to heavy perfumes. We posted a sign outside the door stating that we are a tobacco and fragrance free campus, along with a statement on the receptionist's desk. We've had nothing but positive response since. Our customers and vendors are impressed that we took this stand. Best of all - our receptionist has not missed work! |
Forums » Topic Forums » Legal Forum » Employee Odor Sensitive
