District of Columbia Moves to Protect Right to Smoke Off The Job

TOBACCO January 1993

The District of Columbia City Council is prepared to prohibit hiring bias based on off-the-job tobacco smoking (Rene Sanchez, "D.C. Set to Approve Law on Hiring Bias Against Smokers," Washington Post, 12/15/92, B1).

The legislation would not affect bans on workplace smoking or efforts to prohibit or restrict smoking in public areas that result in exposing nonsmokers to passive smoke. D.C. would become the twenty-third state to enact laws prohibiting hiring bias based strictly on smoking tobacco off the job.