In the last few years, there’s been a rising trend for public employers – not just private companies – to ban smoking. Where does your organization stand?

What’s New in Benefits & Compensation recently surveyed 374 of our readers from both the private and public sectors to find out their organization’s policy on allowing employees to smoke onsite and hiring smokers in the first place. Here’s what we found:

• 11.4% have created a policy of hiring only non-smokers
• 16.9% allow employees to smoke offsite, but ban it on all company property
• 39.6% restrict smoking to designated areas outside the building
• 29.8% allow smoking anywhere outside the building, and
• 2.3% allow smoking in break rooms or other indoor areas.

Public employers get aggressive

While much of the publicity about no-hire policies for smokers centers on private companies, it’s actually public employers in certain states who have been the most aggressive of late.

For example, Florida is one of the states at the forefront of the movement. Sarasota County recently became the third Florida county to take a no-hire stance in order to control healthcare costs. New hires must take a drug test that detects nicotine and sign a pledge certifying that they haven’t smoked in the past 12 months.

The ban won’t affect current employees, but the county has undertaken smoking cessation initiatives aimed at employees’ wallets. Non-smokers pay less for coverage through various incentives and the county covers the cost of participating in smoking cessation programs.

The reason why Florida public employers are able to take these steps: The state supreme Supreme Court has ruled that refusing to hire smokers doesn’t break discrimination laws. But your state laws may vary, so proceed with caution before considering similar policies.