The World Health Organization has a new hiring policy that will reject all applicants
who smoke, the Associated Press reports.
The ban on hiring smokers applies to all of the agency's sites, according to
spokesman Iain Simpson. International law, which the agency says has no rule
forbidding such a ban, governs WHO.
"WHO has taken a very public lead in the fight against tobacco use,"
says Simpson. "As a matter of principle, WHO does not want to recruit smokers."
On job applications, the agency will ask prospective employees if they smoke.
The agency says it will reject all applicants who answer yes, the news service
reports.
There is no federal law in the United States protecting smokers, but some states
have laws prohibiting workplace discrimination based on whether someone smokes.
In Michigan, a state with no law protecting smokers, Weyco, Inc., instituted
a policy recently that bans employees from smoking even in nonwork hours and
tests employees to ensure compliance. The company's chief executive Howard Weyers
says the policy aims to reduce healthcare costs.
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