Can you fire an employee for smoking?

Maybe.  Whirlpool Corp. suspended 39 employees this week at a manufacturing plant in Evansville, Indiana.  They were spotted smoking, or chewing tobacco, in smoke break areas on company property.  They had all signed health plan related documents stating that they were non-smokers, non tobacco users.  Whirlpool charges smokers an additional $500 each year in employee contributions for health plan coverage.  Violation of Whirlpool policy prohibiting falsification of documents is being investigated, these employees could be fired.

A 2007 Mercer study found that 10% of very large employers (more than 20,000 employees) adjusted employee contributions for health benefits based on smoking habits.  Employers of all sizes offer incentives to quit smoking, exercise and lose weight.  Monetary incentives can include reimbursements or discounts for gym membership, smoking cessation and weight loss programs in addition to premium cost sharing adjustments.

Employers have to rely on honest reporting to support these efforts.  Employees may be asked to produce a receipt from a health club but they don’t punch in and out to record trips to the gym.  Weight loss is certainly visible but employees are unlikely to be required to step on a scale at an employee entrance.  Workplace standards of conduct should include a rule prohibiting falsification of information.  Terminating employees for falsification is common and justifiable.  If an employee provides creative information on one form can you trust the data that they give you elsewhere?

These 39 employees may lose their job for falsification, not for smoking.  In this case their falsification had also saved them money. The falsification could have cost Whirlpool more in smoking related illness in addition to the premium dollars. Maybe the employees had quit during open enrollment when they signed the form but started smoking again last month. 

Whether or not you are required by law to restrict workplace smoking you can adopt and enforce no-smoking policies.  Violations could lead to termination.  Do you think an employee will choose cigarettes or a paycheck?