Woman sues to ban perfumes at work - should her allergies override coworkers right to wear cologne?

Question

Do you think she has the right to have perfumes banned from her work?
My niece goes to a school where they TOTALLY ban peanut butter because ONE girl has a sever allergy. What's my niece's FAVORITE lunch food...you guessed it!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070705/ts_alt_afp/uscourtemployee_070705151239

WASHINGTON (AFP) - An office worker for the US city of Detroit is suing for her colleagues to be banned from wearing perfume which gives her such severe headaches, nausea and coughing fits that she must leave work.

Answer 1

There's that slippery slope. I bet most of the people on here don't like smoke, some even claim an allergy to it when they simply just don't like it. Add the second hand smoke flag and smokers are SOL It doesn't matter that the whole second hand smoke thing has been so blown out of proportion that people act like fools about it. As a consequence, the smoking police have made a religion out of it. It's not enough to ban smoking in the workplace. People now act as though if they get a whiff from ten feet away they're going to die a slow death from cancer. It's really gotten ridiculous, and I don't even smoke.

Just replace the concept with the scenario you present. You know, most people don't like perfume in the workplace, etc.
It's a little scary isn't it? Where does it stop - and with what?

Answer 2

Apples and oranges.

The peanut butter issue is ridiculous. People with peanut allergies must ingest peanuts to have a severe reaction.

Cologne is a different story. It affects everyone within smelling distance. I, personally, cannot even walk by a perfume counter because I get migraines.

I don't recall a "right to wear cologne" anywhere in the Constitution. I think a persons right to be able to work without headaches, nausea and coughing fits would override the right to vanity. My wife works at a "fragrance-free" workplace. It doesn't mean you cannot use perfume (or scented soaps, etc.), only that you cannot BATHE in the stuff, as many seem to do.

In response to the Claratin and dimatapp crowd, hypersensitivity to smells is not an allergy.

The key sentence in this article is "The co-worker refused to leave off the perfume, according to the complaint." So, because of one persons arrogance and lack of compassion, the whole office must pay the consequences.

Just my opinion...

Answer 3

Your niece's issue is far different than the question of whose rights should prevail concerning airborne fumes.
It's not surprising that a school would over- react as they strive for political correctness, even though eating or not eating peanut butter is strictly a choice. The office worker has no choice as to breathing or not. The air in the workplace is hazardous to her health due to the choices made by her co-workers. How selfish it would be to harm someone simply because there's no law against it. It certainly harms no one to abstain from wearing perfume.
When people are unconcerned about the effect their choices have on the health and well-being of their neighbors / co-workers, government has no choice but to act. Without the "big brother" aspect of government, how clean would our rivers be? Highways? etc....

Answer 4

People have the right to work in a safe environment. If someones allergies are aggravated because of strong smells like perfume (me too by the way) then the worker should either not wear perfume or one of them be transferred. It seems easier to just not wear perfume. Who is this lady trying to impress at work anyway where she needs to take a shower in the stuff???

Answer 5

I understand that peanut butter allergies are so severe that they can actually kill a person, so I can see where your niece's school is coming from. I also think that those who are complaining that they did this at the school are pretty insensitive to human life - that they think peanut butter is more important then this girls health and it's so terrible that they cannot have it for a whole seven hours! Pretty sorry state for poor girl.

I also feel the same way about the perfume. First of all, everyone knows that you should never wear perfume to the office in the case that it is offensive to others. I don't think that it's right that she even has to sue over this, I think this should be addressed by the company and put into their hand books. Go onto any site giving office etiquette and it will tell you not to wear perfume.

Answer 6

Eating something that has a "peanut taint" can killl children. I don't think schools should take that chance. They are responsible for the children while they are there.

As far as perfume, I would think that co-workers who work with this woman would be sensitive enough to not wear perfume to work without it being an issue for the workplace to have to deal with. Just common courtesy.They could live without perfume for 8 hrs.

Answer 7

Yes, I do think she has a right to have all perfumes banned.

First of all, some people don't know when to stop spraying it on. They smell up the entire office. When it is so bad you can actually taste it, it is too much.

I have COPD & if I am anywhere there is perfume I back up & exit.

Moderation would be great, but we all know people do not usually know moderation.
I think enough people are bothered to different degrees that it should be banned.

If your niece loves peanut butter so much, couldn't she eat across the room from this girl? Or couldn't the girl go elsewhere? Most of the places kids eat in are huge. I can't believe this girl is bothered fifty feet away from the peanut butter. If she is, she needs to take allergy shots.

Answer 8

I really don't know how you would handle a situation like this,
I sympathize with both sides. getting a new job won't help her, she'd just meet other people who wear perfume

I think its up her bosses if they feel this is a serious enough issue that it should be banned. they might think she is worth keeping no matter what or that perfume isn't important enough to keep.

as far as peanuts go, most schools have banned them because many people are allergic to them (especially children).

Answer 9

if your "aura" invades the whole office. it's wrong to subject me to something on the assumption that I'll like it too.

On the 4th of July at 5:40 AM, they started shooting a Civil War 4" cannon from a hill overlooking my small town (directly at an apartment building, by the way). Every 7 minutes another boom. I was up anyway because I had to work, but I live 1 1/4 miles away and when I was in the shower, thought someone was in my house slamming the door...things were rattling in the cupboard. Now its fine to have a patriotic spirit, and I would have to say ONE shot at 5:40 AM would have been appropriate, but to continue with a barrage to prove their patriotism and to wake everybody up at the crack of dawn is ridiculous...same kind of deal.

Answer 10

Smoking has been banned from most offices, why should perfume be any different? The smell of brewing coffee makes me sick, yet I have put up with it as a necessary evil for years. It just seems to be a matter of what's popular to pick on at the current time.