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Limited Relief For Federal Employees Hypersensitive To Tobacco Smoke: Federal Employers Who'd Rather Fight May Have To Switch, Carolyn Cliff

Washington Law Review

Despite legislative and judicial efforts to control tobacco smoking in public places, smoking in the workplace continues to cause problems. This Comment analyzes two recent decisions that addressed claims for relief by federal government employees who suffer severe reactions to tobacco smoke: Parodi v. Merit Systems Protection Board, and Vickers v. Veterans Administration. The claims were brought under statutory schemes designed to meet the employment needs of the physically or mentally disadvantaged. The relief granted or considered in each decision gave the hypersensitive nonsmoker only a partial victory. In addition, the Vickers and Parodi decisions offer no assistance to nonsmokers …