last updated: Thursday, July 1, 2004
Smoking, or should it be non-smoking, policies may be different from campus to campus but most campuses have policies that restrict the areas in which people may smoke in the interest of protecting the health and safety of both smokers and non-smokers alike. Because of the potential liability from lawsuits from smokers who become ill or disabled because of their addiction, few campuses, if any, provide special accommodations for smokers. If you have questions about smoking policy on a particular campus, consult with the campus human resources office.
For campus that have restrictive smoking policies it is highly recommended, as with all such policies, that their policy compliance statement makes it clear that all State employees are responsble for ensuring compliance. As an example of such language, consider the following:
Compliance:
It is the responsibility of all members of the campus community to observe this smoking policy. If supervisors or other authority figures observe violations of this policy, or any other policies for that matter, they must remind offenders of this policy lest they provide tacit approval of the violations by their silence. Administrators and supervisors have an obligation to be aware of campus policies, to support them, and to ensure that subordinates are likewise aware of their responsibilities to support and enforce them.
It is important that employees at all levels within the organization of a SUNY campus clearly understand that as employees receiving compensation and benefits from the State they must abide by, and assist in the enforcement of, all policies, laws, rules, and regulations of the State and its sub-divisions which include SUNY and its campuses.