Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. says employees who smoke at work or at home next year risk losing their jobs, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The company has set a deadline of next fall for smokers to quit. The company tells the newspaper that it will begin testing workers in October in states with no law prohibiting employers from making employment decisions based on whether a worker smokes.
While no federal law protects smokers, 29 states and the District of Columbia have passed some form of smoker-protection legislation. Minnesota , for example, bars employers from discriminating against a job applicant or employee because the person uses any "lawful product," including tobacco, away from the workplace and during nonworking hours.
The company says its smoking ban is part of its efforts to lower healthcare costs. To help workers quit, the company offers to pay for smoking-cessation programs, the newspaper reports.
Jim Hagedorn, the company's chief executive, says he wants to see employees take steps to quit smoking and hopes no one will be fired.
"If you work with us, and we know you're working with us, I don't think you're going to end up getting fired." Hagedorn tells the newspaper. "Are we going to stand by and watch our people get sick? The answer is no. Success here is not firing anybody."
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