Posted on 07/05/2007 8:55:27 AM PDT by COUNTrecount
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.
Court documents showed Thursday that Susan McBride suffered so acutely from allergy to the chemicals in scents, lotions and sprays that she had to go home sick when a heavily perfumed co-worker shared her office at the city's historic districts department.
Her sensitivity is such that she avoids the detergent sections in shops and cannot sit near perfumed people in a movie theater or on the bus.
The co-worker refused to leave off the perfume, according to the complaint filed at the district court in Detroit, in the northern state of Michigan. McBride needed medical treatment and was off work for some time.
Now she is seeking a jury trial to make the city force fellow employees to come to work un-scented, citing disability discrimination laws. She is claiming unspecified damages for "pain, suffering, humiliation and outrage" suffered.
McBride and her manager have already asked the city authorities that employ her to enforce a "no scent policy as an accommodation to her disability, without success," the complaint said.
Amended to add that for the public sector, where this woman was employed, the policy should be that which puts the least burden on the taxpayers. In this case, a ban on perfume in the office.
There are a number of perfumes that give me a splitting headache, sometimes to the point of nausea. I cannot be in the vicinity of a perfume counter in a department store ever. But I have found that a little dab of Vicks Vapo Rub on my nostrils works like a charm to protect myself from unwanted perfume molecules. Mentholatum works, too. I haven’t had a problem now in several years because I keep a jar of Vicks in my desk. That way I don’t have to impose my weaknesses on the people I work with.
Well, I agree with you to some extent, but c’mon - if she is a good employee making a reasonable request, she ought to have some kind or recourse.
Age, race, & other discriminations are taken seriously, why not medical?
By the way - if you can name me a “fragrance free” employer in the Detroit area, who confirms it on a web site, I’ll agree with you. Can’t find one, can you?
Ping
Glad you found that remedy. Unfortunately for people like my Mom, she was also allergic to petroleum produts, even having trouble sometimes eating things out of plastic containers... So Vick’s and Mentholatum would not help...
Allergies are bad stuff, if they get severe. I still say if her co-workers and employers had a little more consideration, there would be no lawsuit.
Smokers told you so. Enjoy your intolerant nanny state.
This type of ban would be unenforecable. Deodorants, cosmetics, and skin creams all have aromas that linger; shampoo, soap, and detergents also leave scents. (I know someone who can detect if a woman uses a certain brand of shampoo.) How can businesses prevent people from washing their hair or using deodorant? Further, how can businesses prove whose pleasant smell is due to Chanel No. 19, versus Secret Antiperspirant? I feel sorry for people with allergies, but it is unrealistic and unfair for them to expect the world to conform to their needs.
I like Andy Rooney’s take on the wearing of perfume and/or cologne.”If somebody else can smell it, you’re wearing too much”.
Yeah. I know. Believe me, I get your point. But you deal with what you have to. I think ADA is a crock, mostly, but why would any business refuse to TRY to make accommodations for someone in a wheelchair? Or someone who has some other trouble? If this woman is just a trouble-maker, I’m with you...
Like I’ve said in every post, if there were just SOME effort to work this stuff out, these dumb lawsuits would disappear. But you know, women have a RIGHT to smell like a hooker if they want to and nobody with allergies can suggest they calm it down. Unheeded requests often become demands, which causes rude responses, which in turn ends in a lawsuit...
My health food store sells a Vicks-like product that does not contain petrolatum, put has the same consistency and the same “vapo.” I think it is based with a vegetable oil product like safflower oil, or one of those alternatives. Try Whole Foods market.
You would have appreciated one of my former colleagues, who kept tuna sandwiches and Fritos open in his desk drawer and I had to run, gagging, from his part of the office. Another nuked product that doesn’t smell very good is popcorn.
That wasn’t Andy Rooney, that was my Mother!
Good point. And that is precisely the point. If it were skunk scent, or tear gas, we would all be agreeing. The decision is where to draw the line, and when the government should get involved or stay away.
These things often remind me of little kids running to Mommy when big sister made a face at them. But, if big sister has a butcher knife, Mommy needs to get involved. The whole idea is: where is the line?
If I could make my allergies go away it would be the happiest day of my life.
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