E-Cigarettes: New FAQs, How To and Quick Reference Chart Available

Authors: Ashley Shaw and Marta Moakley, XpertHR Legal Editors

XpertHR 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.

Along with the How To and Quick Reference chart, XpertHR also has added several Frequently Asked Questions to help an employer navigate this trending topic:

1. What are e-cigarettes?
2. What is vaping?
3. Do e-cigarettes contain nicotine?
4. What are the pros and cons of allowing e-cigarettes in the workplace?
5. Do e-cigarettes cause any smells that might affect other employees in the workplace?
6. 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?
7. Does an employer need to implement a workplace e-cigarette policy?
8. Are there liability risks for an employer in allowing the use of e-cigarettes in the workplace?
9. Are there any federal or state laws regulating e-cigarettes in the workplace?
10. Is e-cigarette use protected by state laws prohibiting discrimination against employees for engaging in legal off duty activities?
11. May an employer ban e-cigarettes and vaping in the workplace?
12. May an employer treat e-cigarette use like regular cigarette smoking?
13. 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?
14. Are e-cigarettes considered a tobacco product?
15. Is secondhand vapor from an e-cigarette unhealthy?
16. Is an employer required to reasonably accommodate an employee who claims to be addicted to nicotine by allowing the employee to vape at work?
17. Are e-cigarettes an effective smoking-cessation tool?

Finally, the Discipline an Employee for Off-Duty Behavior Task has been edited to include information regarding off-duty e-cigarette use.