Smoke Breaks Are Costly

New Jersey attorney Gregg Salka was interviewed on August 12 on WKXW – New Jersey 101.5 Radio about employees taking smoking breaks during working hours.

The segment reported that a recent study published by Ohio State University found that one smoking worker can cost an employer $5,800 per year in down time.

Gregg noted that there isn’t much an employer can do to solve the problem since New Jersey law protects employees from discrimination if they smoke, and eliminating smoke breaks could be a breeding ground for lawsuits.

Gregg said: “Smoking on a break is no different than your typical employee who’s on Facebook or who’s tweeting away. It’s basically not performing work while they’re on company time.”

He added that if employers are not going to ban surfing and texting , then they should not do away with smoke breaks.