Employer Goes Too Far

A few months ago, both of the major hospitals here in Amarillo banned smoking on their premises, even outside on their grounds and parking lots. Even though I'm a smoker, I think they had the absolute right to do that. Any employer should be able to set the rules for what happens on their property, and for what their employees do during working hours.

But one of those hospitals has now gone too far. They not only want to control employees actions during works hours, but now they want to control what those employees do during their non-working hours in their daily lives. That strikes me as being a little to much like "Big Brother".

Baptist St. Anthony Hospital (BSA) has decided it will no longer hire anyone who smokes -- regardless of their qualifications. They are going to give a blood test to all prospective employees, and one of the things tested for will be use of tobacco products. A positive test will mean the applicant will not be hired.

The hospital says that refusing to hire tobacco users will help them to create "a healthy work environment". Haven't they already done that by banning smoking on their property? Do they really have the right to demand an employee not use tobacco in his/her off-time?

I also have to wonder just what else they will be testing for in the blood tests. How long will it be before they're testing for genetic defiencies and other things? This seems to me to be an invasion of privacy.

An employer has the right to demand an employee show up on time and in shape to work effectively. They also have the right to determine what happens on their property. But they do not have the right to invade an employee's (or prospective employee's) privacy or to dictate what that employee can do in their private lives and time-off.