Friday, July 6, 2007

where is that (scent free) soap box?

so check it out...i have to reprint this here cuz its like almost never that anything related to my disability gets as far as crappy mainstream news land, esp. in a context that doesn't involve making my kind look like whiny eccentric wierdos.This little snippet is ofcourse too short, and what i want to know is how the suit goes in the end....if she wins then maybe that will set even the smallest precedent for the rest of us...maybe. My favorite catch phrase that i stole from the anti-smoking brigades that also totally applies to gnarley ol' neurotoxic scented crap is " your rights end at the tip of my nose"

"Allergic US employee sues to ban perfume at work
Thu Jul 5, 11:12 AM ET
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."

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

We can hope!! The American arrogance of "it's my choice and this is a free country" does us sooo much damage.Wow, what a freedom to be able to choose from amongst 1000's of chemicals to put on your body and be absorbed through your skin.Sorry for the NY sarcasm but cruelty deserves no quarter.It would be a huge breakthrough to win this one.Thanks Erin.

Jbeeky said...

I never thought about it before and it does seem crazy that we stomp all over each other with perfumes and such.

Anonymous said...

"why do women wear makeup and perfume? they *think* that they are ugly and smell bad"--by ?, on a sticker next to me.... ditto for cologne i guess b/c males won't smell manly enough w/o it...arrgh...i hope she wins!
on a diff note, if u can put the money together, i'll echo the comment about buying being better than renting. but if u can't afford to buy, or stay on the mtn, then rent. also, try sticking your tail down in the earth at both these prospective places: what feels more solid? sq

Madeleine said...

Thought you'd be interested to know that there is a big article on scent-free rights in the current issue of Allergic Living magazine. You can see part of the article at www.allergicliving.com

The whole article tells you that, in Canada at least, getting headaches or asthma attacks from perfumes or solvents qualifies as disability. The workplace has to accommodate you! I did not know this.