E-Cigarettes: New FAQs, How To and Quick Reference Chart Available
Authors: Ashley Shaw and Marta Moakley, Brightmine Legal Editors
HR & Compliance Center has added a How To on formulating an effective e-cigarette policy in the workplace and a Quick Reference chart on the pros and cons of allowing e-cigarettes in the workplace. These new resources:
- Help an employer decide whether it needs an e-cigarette ban in the workplace and whether it should create one even when it is not a requirement;
- Explain what e-cigarettes and vaping are; and
- Show how to create and enforce a policy on e-cigarettes.
- What are e-cigarettes?
- What is vaping?
- Do e-cigarettes contain nicotine?
- What are the pros and cons of allowing e-cigarettes in the workplace?
- Do e-cigarettes cause any smells that might affect other employees in the workplace?
- If an employee gets sick from secondhand vapor from an e-cigarette and the employer permits vaping in the workplace, could the sickened employee successfully sue or get workers' compensation from the illness?
- Does an employer need to implement a workplace e-cigarette policy?
- Are there liability risks for an employer in allowing the use of e-cigarettes in the workplace?
- Are there any federal or state laws regulating e-cigarettes in the workplace?
- Is e-cigarette use protected by state laws prohibiting discrimination against employees for engaging in legal off duty activities?
- May an employer ban e-cigarettes and vaping in the workplace?
- May an employer treat e-cigarette use like regular cigarette smoking?
- If an employer has a policy allowing vaping in the workplace and not smoking, how should it address smokers' complaints that the policy is unfair?
- Are e-cigarettes considered a tobacco product?
- Is secondhand vapor from an e-cigarette unhealthy?
- Is an employer required to reasonably accommodate an employee who claims to be addicted to nicotine by allowing the employee to vape at work?
- Are e-cigarettes an effective smoking-cessation tool?
Along with the How To and Quick Reference chart, HR & Compliance Center also has added several Frequently Asked Questions to help an employer navigate this trending topic:
Finally, the Discipline an Employee for Off-Duty Behavior Task has been edited to include information regarding off-duty e-cigarette use.