U-Haul to Stop Hiring Smokers

The fact that it is legal to discriminate against hiring smokers in 21 states is the big news.

IMO it is a very dangerous thing when the government allows discrimination in hiring people that engage in lawful activities or lifestyle choices.

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At first I was upset about freedom to do something perfectly legal while on your own time. But then I thought that the option to smoke does mean that your health is affected. It is not that you May or you MIGHT, it is you WILL develop health problems, due to smoking. If you have an employer type health plan at work, your smoking will significantly raise the cost of that plan. Sooner or later, the consequences of smoking will affect your health. I think if your smoking didn't affect your employer monetarily, then no, an employer wouldn't be able to not hire you. ( Sorry for that sentence) But if it does, then yes, an employer may not hire you. Also, since it is your choice to smoke, I don't think it's discriminatory like Black,/gay/anti-female discrimination.


types of discrimination. etc.
 

fuzzybuddy said:
It is not that you May or you MIGHT, it is you WILL develop health problems, due to smoking.
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Not to mention that smokers often subject others to the health hazard of second-hand smoke. And why do most smokers think it is not littering to throw their cigarette butts anywhere? It is so disrespectful to find them on the ground around my houses and in public places. YUCK!

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If U Haul, or any company, is interested in controlling the cost of their corporate sponsored health care plans, they should put Obesity at the top of their list. Data at the CDC clearly shows that over 30% of our nation's health care costs are related to Obesity. Smokers have had to pay a premium for their health insurance for many years....those who are substantially overweight should Also be required to pay more to support their self induced health problems.
 
The thing about smoking inside of any vehicle or hotel room is the stink that it lets behind. I refuse to stay in any hotel that allows smoking. I also refuse to rent any car when I am traveling that has the odor of stale smoke. Most car rental agencies do not allow smoking inside their vehicles.

By government laws, employers who do not allow smoking inside of their offices, vehicles or even on their campus, are not in violation of discrimination. Why would anyone want to encourage it? Being self-destructive is no way to go through life.

There are a few things that insurance companies and employers can do to help lessen the health cost burden. Not allowing smoking is one. Most employers now pay for cessation classes and/or cessation medications. United even focused on weight loss at one time. Anyone that was considered obese was offered incentives to lose weight. If anyone was caught with alcohol or drugs in their system, they could be immediately terminated. This was done through random testing. In most cases, if you came forward and stated that you had a problem with alcohol or drugs, you were offered to be sent to a rehab at the company’s expense. I know of other companies that have also done this.
 
Aunt Bea said:
The fact that it is legal to discriminate against hiring smokers in 21 states is the big news.

IMO it is a very dangerous thing when the government allows discrimination in hiring people that engage in lawful activities or lifestyle choices.
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U Haul is not the government. Our rights to free speech and free expression stop at the private employer's door. Our protections only allow forbidding government action, not inaction. Capitalism is generally free to set it's own rules when it comes to things like smoking and employment policies. Racial discrimination and things of that nature are a different matter, as there are federal laws directly addressing such concerns.

The lifestyle choice to smoke influences sick leave policies and insurance coverage paid for by the employer.
 
applecruncher said:
What about those who drink alcohol? 🤔
There's evidence that alcohol is the deadliest drug, killing more than tobacco and all other drugs combined.
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That would mean that almost all of the posters on these forums would have never been employed. And for some, it would seem like a better choice to be unemployed than to have to give up alcohol in any or all forms.
 
Pepper said:
U Haul is not the government. Our rights to free speech and free expression stop at the private employer's door. Our protections only allow forbidding government action, not inaction. Capitalism is generally free to set it's own rules when it comes to things like smoking and employment policies. Racial discrimination and things of that nature are a different matter, as there are federal laws directly addressing such concerns.

The lifestyle choice to smoke influences sick leave policies and insurance coverage paid for by the employer.
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Lifestyle choice and/or insurance may have nothing to do with their ruling. It may be more along the lines of Oldman's comments. The company probably cares less about the health of their employees but when potential customers complain about the "stink" (to use Oldman's words" and refuse to rent a vehicle because of it, then it becomes a business decision.

Let users smoke and have to fumigate the vehicles before re-renting them, or have no smokers using the vehicles - -period!
 
DaveA said:
Lifestyle choice and/or insurance may have nothing to do with their ruling. It may be more along the lines of Oldman's comments. The company probably cares less about the health of their employees but when potential customers complain about the "stink" (to use Oldman's words" and refuse to rent a vehicle because of it, then it becomes a business decision.

Let users smoke and have to fumigate the vehicles before re-renting them, or have no smokers using the vehicles - -period!
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Good point. Is U-Haul going to forbid smokers from using their vehicles, trailers, and storage units? 🤔
 
I applaud it 100%. Don't give me that civil rights excuse. Smokers smoke because they have not tried successfully to quit or they don't give a damn about their health. Ask a smoker if they truly want to continue to smoke. Where do they deposit their butts? Ever walk by a butt can? They stink like crap and they look the same. Who is supposed to clean them out and how often? Perhaps we should all sweep up after them. How many "smoke breaks" are they allowed each day while others remain working? Will pregnant women be allowed to smoke on the job? If not, why not? After all it's their right to smoke. Take a poll of smokers asking them if they could quit, would they? The answer is obvious. cough,cough, cough!!
 
I'm glad some company or at least someone is taking some sort of stand on this issue. Everyone seems to be politically correct & therefore afraid to say, do or even think differently from the rest of the nameless crowd.
 
Packerjohn said:
I'm glad some company or at least someone is taking some sort of stand on this issue. Everyone seems to be politically correct & therefore afraid to say, do or even think differently from the rest of the nameless crowd.
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I thought the politically correct thing was to be against smoking tobacco. Has that changed?
 
Well I certainly am not for smoking but I don’t know where this would stop, there are many bad habits that people have and it sounds as though these companies are being the judgment police. So that means that people over a certain healthy weight won’t be hired, people that drink alcohol will not be hired, people who drive too fast will not be hired and any other bad habit that the company has deemed unacceptable can cause a person to be blacklisted.

But then I can also understand the company’s position that they do not want to employ individuals that show irresponsible and risky behavior, but that’s a slippery slope. One thing I did notice when I was working with individuals who smoked is they went outside all the time to smoke cigarettes ......I don’t know how many minutes of time in productivity was lost but workers had to cover for them when they were out there smoking and it really irritating especially if you were the supervisor and had to rein them in.

Perhaps it’s a way for supervisors to avoid putting the hammer down when they need to.....I’ve seen that a lot recently that supervisors avoid taking action because they’re afraid of retaliation and lack of support from their higher chain of command.
 
Lc jones said:
Well I certainly am not for smoking but I don’t know where this would stop, there are many bad habits that people have and it sounds as though these companies are being the judgment police. So that means that people over a certain healthy weight won’t be hired, people that drink alcohol will not be hired, people who drive too fast will not be hired and any other bad habit that the company has deemed unacceptable can cause a person to be blacklisted.

But then I can also understand the company’s position that they do not want to employ individuals that show irresponsible and risky behavior, but that’s a slippery slope. One thing I did notice when I was working with individuals who smoked is they went outside all the time to smoke cigarettes ......I don’t know how many minutes of time in productivity was lost but workers had to cover for them when they were out there smoking and it really irritating especially if you were the supervisor and had to rein them in.

Perhaps it’s a way for supervisors to avoid putting the hammer down when they need to.....I’ve seen that a lot recently that supervisors avoid taking action because they’re afraid of retaliation and lack of support from their higher chain of command.
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I rethought this and decided if a company chooses to do these things it’s their company and we have a choice not to work for that particular company or not to buy Whatever they’re selling so that’s another side of it, I tend to look at both sides of an issue and debate it back-and-forth, LOL!
 
Lc jones said:
I rethought this and decided if a company chooses to do these things it’s their company and we have a choice not to work for that particular company or not to buy Whatever they’re selling so that’s another side of it, I tend to look at both sides of an issue and debate it back-and-forth, LOL!
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Me too. I have Mercury in Gemini in the First House.
 
No mystery about the why of the new hiring policy.

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"The new policy will focus on the health of team members and employees, while also decreasing healthcare costs, company officials said"


I think key to that policy is the concern for the health of employees that don't smoke. In addition health care costs are a reality that this company has the right to try reduce.

When it comes to health even the US military branches have standards that can cause rejection.
 
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