August 17, 2012
To the Honorable
Members of the
Illinois Senate,
97th
General Assembly:
I
would like to commend the sponsors for their hard work on Senate Bill 2945.
This legislation amends the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act to allow
for-profit employers who provide medical or hospital treatment to those with
cancer to refuse to hire, discharge, discipline and alter the pay, benefits and
working conditions of any employee who uses tobacco products when not at work.
As Governor, I am committed to working together to decrease the number of
smokers and to make sure Illinois residents have fresh air to breathe while
they are at work and in public places. Although this bill has been narrowly
drawn to primarily apply to employees of a cancer treatment center, there are
more extensive consequences which could have an impact on a citizen’s right to
privacy.
The issue of employees' rights to engage in certain
off-duty activities and the competing authority of their employers to prohibit
them from doing so has received significant attention from lawmakers and other
policymakers around the country. In total, twenty-nine states and the District
of Columbia have statutes that protect employees from adverse employment
actions based on their off-duty activities. These statutes provide three
different levels of protection: (1) use of tobacco only; (2) use of lawful
products; and (3) any and all lawful activities. Since this bill has been
transmitted to me, concerns have been raised that this legislation has far-reaching
consequences beyond an employer’s desire to keep employees healthy.
In
addition, I am concerned about how this bill will be implemented in order to
make sure it protects our health care employees. According to the sponsors of
the bill, the provision will only apply to new employees hired after the
effective date of the bill. This important stipulation was not written into
the bill and cannot be enacted through regulation. In addition, the legislation
does not address whether employees will have the right to appeal adverse
employment decisions.
Finally,
the bill does not address how employees will be tested for tobacco use.
According to proponents, new employees may be tested for tobacco use by
undergoing blood tests. Although proponents claim the blood test threshold
cannot be reached through second-hand smoke, I remain concerned about how the
tests will be administered.
For these reasons, I cannot affix
my signature to Senate Bill 2945. I look forward to working with sponsors in
the coming months to continue to encourage individuals to stop smoking and to
make sure cancer treatment centers have the tools they need to treat patients.
Therefore pursuant to Article IV,
Section 9(b) of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I return Senate Bill 2945
with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.
Sincerely,
PAT QUINN
Governor