A Fragrance-Free Workplace
March 27th, 2010If one of your employees smells like Teen Spirit, that may cause a headache for her coworkers—and for you if you don’t do something about it. Sensitivity to fragrances is increasingly recognized as a disability.
Susan McBride, a Detroit city planner, sued the city for discrimination after a coworker’s perfume caused health problems. (McBride v. City of Detroit, No. 07-12794.) The office-mate used strong perfume and plugged in a room deodorizer too. The smells overcame McBride to the point where she missed work and had to undergo medical treatment.
McBride asked the city to adopt a “no-scent” policy. The city declined and later argued that such a policy was not a reasonable accommodation, because it would present an undue hardship. The federal court disagreed. The policy she requested was based on one already in use at the Michigan Dept. of Information Technology. It did not prohibit all scents but stated that “mild scents may be worn in moderation, but strong or offensive scents that become detrimental to the work unit will not be tolerated.” McBride settled for $100,000.
Almost one in five people has a respiratory problem of some kind and can be affected by the chemicals used in creating fragrances. Common symptoms are headaches, breathing problems, and nausea.
Many employers—particularly medical offices—are adding no-scent policies to their employment manuals. Some of these are so strict that they prohibit flowers and magazines with perfumed inserts. Others, like the one McBride advocated, are more flexible.
You may not need a scent-free policy at all. You need to listen to your employees and take their requests for accommodation seriously. In a rock ballad it may be all right for the smell of cheap perfume to go on and on and on—but not at the office.
I find myself coming to your blog more and more often to the point where my visits are almost daily now!
Great information! I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now. Thanks!
I was denied 10 – 18 years ago, for sever reaction to under 1 micron, of any fragrance, stopped from getting any kind of job. No disability of any kind. Now they are now accepting this. It is sad that this happens and I spent 17-18 years over 200 thousand on alternative treatsments, I can now go anywhere! But people must realize it is not just one thing. You may want to check out some other items on line here is one of them : From:stagon.org
direct application, by contact with fragranced items, and by exposure to air containing fragrances. Today’s fragrances you think they are made from flowers & fragranced products provide constant source of fragrance chemicals, that are absorbed by your skin and inhaled as vapors. Did you know that 95% of the chemicals in fragrances are synthetic compounds derived from petroleum . Many of the chemicals in perfumes are the same chemicals in cigarette smoke, and yet there are no regulation of the fragrance industry.