My workplace implemented a smoking ban - which includes vapor because if it looks like smoke, it must
be smoke - a couple of years ago. Smokers are allowed to stand on the public easement in front of the building and there are literally hundreds of cigarette butts on the lawn. Makes the place look real classy.
Many employers (mine included) are doing cotinine screens (a nicotine alkaloid) and assessing a "tobacco surcharge" on top of the standard insurance premiums for anyone that tests positive for even trace amounts. The nicotine penalty is an additional $150 per month.
The HR honchos and the "medical team" administering the tests were flummoxed when I showed them legitimate, published documentation substantiating that nicotine is found in numerous plants, vegetables, and fruits, not just tobacco. The scientific/organic reality meant nothing to these bleating sheep and their eyes glazed over in confusion.
The real idiocy was that several people who everyone knew were non-smokers tested positive, some more than once. Fortunately, they were allowed to be re-screened (the same day) as many time as it took to get a negative result.The tests were total BS.
My employer's insurance plan changes January 1st and those that test positive will have an additional $150 a month deducted from their paychecks.
They can do whatever they want, it's their business but the frustrating thing is that anyone testing positive for cotinine is classified as a smoker or tobacco-user and a smoker.
To me, that's like saying that if I use cough syrup that has alcohol in it when medically appropriate, I am a whiskey drinker.
The world, and especially America, is filled with idiots and wealthy special interest groups that uses government sanctioned discrimination "for the good of the people."
If one's only problem with a job is that they can't vape on their employer's property, they're very fortunate in today's business climate.