I was was Fired for Smoking my Ecig!!

[dragonshp56]

In Mid October I was on my Job. I am a Chief Steward in the US Merchant Marine doing the Tacoma Alaska run. I have had an ongoing dispute with another crew member. This person saw me holding my E cig outside my storeroom across the passage from his small paint locker. He told me what is that sow I puffed on it and explained what it was. Next thing I know he goes to the Captain and tells him I was smoking a lit cigarette new his paint locker which anyone knows can be extremely dangerous! Since then I took a polygraph and passed with flying colors. Now the company claims that okay we acknowledge he was a lier but you admitt your where smoking an E-cig and being an electronic device can cause paint vapor to explode. Everything I have read says NO. My manual says the only component that can cause a fire in the Lithium battery and you would have to expose it to considerable Heat. I talked to my supplier and he says NO that the atomizer is enclosed and dosn't get near hot enough to come close to doing anything and that there is this tiny bar that create magnetic field that activates the vapor cartrige. I need advice from an expert. Currently I am going through a grievence process and was told buy my supplier that there is lawyer on here that represents the E-Cig industry and has all the information. So far I have lost 48K in back pay and benefits. I just need to have the information from the right source to defend myself. I would think that if these company lawyers merely went to my manufacter website they could learn for themselves. Please Help me

 

[alphafemale]

Wish I could help, but I just wanted to say I was sorry this happened to you. Thank you for your service.

 

[j0ker]

Wow...That is a first for me. So sorry to hear. You haven't spoke to a lawyer? I'll see if I can get some info on a lawyer for you.

 

[dragonshp56]

Thanks for your help

 

[angelique510]

Sorry to hear that. Put out a call here on ECF for "vaping lawyer wanted" I am sure someone here will be able to help you.

~A

 

[Sun Vaporer]

Dragon--your real issue is you need a Maritime Lawyer. The expertise of any evidence the maritime attorney can readily procure with experts they hire for all types of cases.

Seek good and competent Counsel by people that have previously had experiance with them and be sure to get a few opinions on the case from a few Attorneys before you retain one.

Good Luck,

Sun

 

[Scottbee]

I'm sorry.. but you've been given bad information. There is no "tiny bar that create magnetic field that activates the vapor cartrige". There is a nichrome heating element that vaporizes PG or VG based liquid on contact. It is not completely enclosed.. if it was, you couldn't get the vapor out of the system.

In a paint locker situation you are dealing with "explosion proof" classification most likely (take a look at the lights and electrical switches in the area). There is no way that a PV can be considered "explosion proof".

Sorry... not trying to be a jerk.. you just need to have some accurate information.

 

[TaketheRedPill]

an atomizer heated to 200degrees Celsius, is an ignition source for fumes/vapors, even if you cannot smell the fumes/vapors.
Acetone, for instance, starts producing fumes at 0(zero) degrees Celsius.
Atomizers are not sealed and have ventilation holes thru which you draw in outside air.
There is a potential for drawing in fumes along with that air in enclosed areas.
Some fumes have low flash points and go boom.
Enough fumes and you get a really big boom as a chain reaction goes off.
That is why gas leaks are so dangerous.

Probably not a good idea to vape around oxygen or when gassing up, either.

Sorry you lost your job, glad nobody got exploded. I doubt you have a case against your employer. I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice.

TTRP

 

[Mustang394]

I'm curious who your supplier is and what model you use. They are not giving you sound advice.

I think you have a very tricky case, if you were forbidden from smoking in that areas vaping was probably not a good idea despite all the hype that you can use it anywhere you want, personally I don't use my PV anywhere I would not normally be able to smoke.

Sun gave you the best advice so far you need to talk to an attorney familiar with maritime law and employment laws for your state to see if you even have a case that may be winnable.

 

[firhill]

Hoping it all works out for you in the long run and you get your job back.

 

[AlexTM]

Well, he was not smoking it in the paint locker: "outside my storeroom across the passage from his small paint locker". That should make a difference. (Depending of course on what was in the paint locker, how wide that passage is, how its ventilated etc.pp.)

 

[The Mosh]

If I were a lawyer, which I'm not, I would point out the obvious, that their policy did not cover e-cigarettes. Since the policy did not cover e-cigarettes, and the whole matter of concern was over a lit cigarette; this would be wrongful, unless they established a policy for e-cigarettes before terminating him.

 

[AlexTM]

They might have a policy about anything electronic, though. That would cover PVs. We just don't have enough information here.

 

[The Mosh]

Good point.
Sounds like they might have an issue with anything combustible and incinitory. Would the individual model of his e-cig would make a difference here?

 

[quasimod]

[...] Would the individual model of his e-cig would make a difference here?

Nope. They all work pretty much the same. A nichrome wire that can get glowing hot.

 

[TropicalBob]

This is a sad situation, where both sides can be understood. No, an electronic cigarette should not be used in an area of explosion danger, any more than someone would light up a tobacco cigarette. E-cigs are in court, after all, seeking to be declared a tobacco product, a cigarette. There might soon be no distinction at all - legally - between them.

Worse would be a hothead of the I-can-vape-anywhere school of thought using one on videotape while filling up a car's gas tank. You want a ban tomorrow? A spot on the evening news? Please, use great discretion on where you whip out your cigarette-lookalike and puff those clouds of smoke-like vapor.

 

[Koman]

Take him to the court, you will win.

 

[The Mosh]

This is a sad situation, where both sides can be understood. No, an electronic cigarette should not be used in an area of explosion danger, any more than someone would light up a tobacco cigarette. E-cigs are in court, after all, seeking to be declared a tobacco product, a cigarette. There might soon be no distinction at all - legally - between them.

Not necessarily. There are a lot of tobacco products that don't involve actual smoke. Snuff, Chew, that weird Camel Snus thing. Just because it's being considered for regulation as a tobacco product, does not mean it's a cigarette. Seems to me that it's more of a pipe than anything. But I'm new at this. What do I know?

 

[quasimod]

Take him to the court, you will win.

Based on what?

 

[tmbrown327]

Seems like a fairly harsh reaction to a single incident, especially since no one on either side seems to know exactly what they're dealing with. Maybe there's more to the story?