A city of Detroit planner can proceed with her lawsuit alleging a co-worker's perfume made it difficult for her to breathe and impossible to do her job, a federal judge has ruled.
In an opinion released late Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff rejected the city's attempt to have Susan McBride's lawsuit, filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act, dismissed.
McBride "has produced evidence that her breathing is significantly restricted" by a co-worker's perfume, and she has a potential claim, Zatkoff ruled.
— Read the rest at Judge says perfume lawsuit can proceed at The Detroit News. Many thanks to Christina for the tip! We first heard about this lawsuit last year, and the problem wasn't just perfume but also a plug-in room deodorizer.
See also: The Detroit Tresor lawsuit.
I wonder what the offending fragrance was.
Yes! What could it be?
What are some scents that you would sue over ;P
let's see…..Drakkar Noir, that Danielle Steel thing, and Cool Water all come to mind. So does that movie from the early '90s with Julianne Moore collapsing at the dry cleaner's.
My college roommate's very bad patchouli from the late '80s. Also the rose oil that a dear friend used to just POUR on until several of us had an intervention with her!
Something potent – like Angel?
Could have been anything, I guess, if she was wearing enough of it and adding in the air freshener!
hopefully I never work with this person…
but I got some samples and I had to put three of them back in the packaging they came in and a plastic baggy because I couldn't breathe and they were making my eyes water.
And that was when they were still in their little sample vile.
I get this, although it does make me sad. I have a big problem with secondhand cigarette smoke, for example – not being able to breathe is a frightening thing. I'd hate to be the source of someone else's pain just because of particulates from my fragrance in the air. On the other hand, it's hard to imagine not wearing my perfume – it brings *me* so much pleasure.
People w/ peanut allergies do sue in some situations, and if someone had a peanut allergy presumably they'd need a peanut-free workplace. Not sure what it has to do with whether or not food and/or perfume are necessary for human survival.
I've had to throw out some vials myself because they could not be “contained” 🙂
How this ever got to “lawsuit” is nuts. I have worked in places where people were allergic to perfume, and the perfume-wearers were asked to stop as part of their continued employment, basically. This is definitely a problem with the management of the company, assuming that the sensitive person brought the offending person to the attention of management, which is a big assumption.
I have mixed feelings on this. I think I should be able to wear the perfume I want, but I guess if a coworker really had problems with it (and wasn't just being a PIA) I would tone it down/switch to another. I would have a hard time giving it up altogether though. A coworker of mine has started burning stinky incense in her office. I can smell it all the way in mine, which is a ways away. It gives me a slight headache. If it continues, I am going to have to ask her to stop.
Everywhere I go, I get asphyxiated by those loud, plasticky, fruity-florals that women drench themselves in these days. Once upon a time, one was in danger of being stifled with Mitsouko or Chanel No5. Which would *you* rather be smothered by? It makes me want to scream.
It says she has “multiple chemical sensitivity,” which quite a lot of doctor's associations don't believe actually exists. It's *very* different from getting headaches or allergies to specific smells–it's having reactions to almost *anything* with a smell. (I've seen it described as a form of panic attacks–with smells setting them off rather than public places as in agoraphobia.)
“[MCS] has been rejected as an established organic disease by the American Academy of Allergy and Immunology, the American Medical Association, the California Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, and the International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology….”
http://www.aafp.org/afp/980901ap/magill.html
Agree, these cases always look like either there was bad management, or like someone was out to make a buck. It's unfortunate, but again, I don't know the details so won't pass judgment.
Hard to say when I don't know the details. Perhaps nobody was asked to stop…
Very surprised anyone is allowed to burn incense in an office!
Sign me up for Mitsouko 🙂
There are some drug store, i.e. *cheap perfumes* that can induce nausea and a splitting headache. Though I can't remember what they are, they must have some low grade chemical that the more expensive ones use. I swear I am not a snob, I'm very open minded. Has this happened to anyone else?
As a wildlife officer, I was not so gently reminded that my perfume could be detected by deer and other animals, so I can't wear it at work…just my lacy underwear.
My sneaking suspicion is that they had more than a perfume issue with each other. And your right, it should have been handled internally.
My sister-in-law said she was allergic to my perfume even though I had worn it for 5 days straight around her. But she is really just allergic to me. 🙂 The offending substance really turned out to be latex…long story. At any rate these women were not friends.
Joy and hypoallergenic smelling,
Becca
As someone concerned with disability issues, I'm finding it interesting that the claim was filed as a breach of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I'll be curious to follow this through. Though I don't doubt that this woman has actual and potentially serious medical issues, I find this particular suit at first glance insulting to people with “disabilities,” which is actually a very specific designation from a legal point of view. Not every medical condition or allergy constitutes a disabilty. Ugh.. I'm getting more annoyed the more I think about it.
Incense? Wow, I'm surprised the fire sprinklers don't go off! That's pretty intense stuff.
It's a very loaded topic, but I can sympathize with those whose allergies are that severe. I love scent but stick to one squirt for the office.
By the time we add in fabric softeners, scent in deodorant, shampoo & hair spray, I'm sure it is a lot of scent.
Today at work I had to serve a couple of women who must have been engaged in some sort of competition to out-stench each other; they were wearing a huge amount of fragrance, and every time either of them moved, this wad of scent molecules would attack me. One of the smelled like baby powder at enormous volume, and the other was wearing something cheap and modern and floral. I still have the headache.
They're the kind of people who give decent people like us a bad name. You can wear any scent you want in public, even powerhouses like Angel or Tabu or Poison, and do it subtly and discreetly if you know what you're doing. (Spray it on a tissue and dab it lightly on your skin. Mix a bit with some unscented lotion and apply a bit to your wrists. Stroke on a fraction of a drop with a sample-vial applicator wand.) If the scent-wearer in the news story was a heavy-handed sprayer, then she had to be stopped; it's just too bad that it took a lawsuit to do it.
There are a few perfumes that have given me headaches, and not all of them were cheap!
Don't want to argue, but it seems to me that the ADA is purposefully broad, and includes many “conditions” that most people wouldn't think of as disabilities. Hard to say more without venturing into the no-no land of politics, though!
Another reason why everyone should rotate their perfumes — olfactory fatigue is a serious problem!
I agree that it's a fine line to walk (and borders on the political). In truth, lawsuits end up helping to clarify through legal precedent what's considered a disability that requires “accommodation” in the workplace or public sphere. However, I do think this is really skating on that boundary, so I'm interested to see how far the case goes. I'm so glad I don't work in HR sometimes. 🙂
Speaking as someone who does work in HR, it is very interesting what one sees in a day's work. 🙂
Actually olfactory fatigue is so big I am surprised there's no article on the topic here – unless I missed it.
There are fragrances I would sue over if push comes to shove:
1. Chanel Mademoiselle
2. Hypnose by Lancome
3. Kenzo Flower – now that's one nasty chemical weapon
4. Clinique Aromatics Elixir
5. Amarige by Givenchy
My best friend loves No. 3 and No 5 on the list above and has to give them up when we meet. I also go lightly with my Hypnotic Poison because she doesn't like “peppery scents”. Meanwhile, I am about to replace HP because to me it is no longer peppery enough. Go figure.
My guess would be the air freshener was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Goodness, the Glade Plug-In alone would probably be enough for most people to make a complaint.
The scents are so dreadful and so potent, especially with the one plug-in model with the fan to disperse the scent over a larger area. My neighbor uses these things, and I can barely stand to be inside her house. She puts them in each room, and the scents clash with each other. Fruit Explosion in the Washroom, Powder Fresh in the Kitchen, Creamy Custard and Blushing Apple in the Family Room, Vanilla Breeze in the Hallway, Outdoor Fresh in the Dining Room, etc. It's enough to choke a horse.
I would've hated to have the cubicle next to hers!
I've worked with a few heavy-handed spritzers in my day, and it really can be headache-inducing, for sure. Especially in a climate-controlled office with windows that don't open, and a heater cranked to “sweltering” year-round. Toss a few heavy-duty spritzers (b/c no office has just one, do they?) and add a disgusting air freshener into the mix, and it's enough to take down the Kremlin, IMO.
Interestingly, I've yet to work at any company/organization that has an employee policy re: the use of air fresheners in one's cublcle or office.
Me, too, but in moderation, please (this is from a perfume lover, with myriad samps and bottles). Whatever happened to the idea that a perfume is a 'personal' thing i.e., worn close to the person? Perfume, in my opinion, is best when it's a bit elusive rather than trumpeting its arrival like a herd of elephants. I'm wearing Lucien Lelong today and subtly applied, it's delightful. Overapplied, I could clear a room!
Alotofscents made, well, a lot of sense–I would bet serious money that there was more going on between those two co-workers than a dispute over spritzing. I certainly have sympathy for the complainant, since a bad frag can make you miserable; my boss used to wear some dreadful patchouli/musk reek, the same thing for years and years, and we couldn't say anything because she was our boss. I also have sympathy for the spritzer; asking the perfume wearer to tone it down is something of an infringement of her right to express herself. But my right to swing my arm stops just short of my neighbor's nose; her self-expression does have real effects on another person. I doubt the complainer suffers from a genuine allergy, with danger of anaphylactic shock, but that doesn't mean her complaint isn't valid (even though she seems to be resorting to the “define discomfort as a new, medically-recognized disorder” legal strategy). Why is the perfume wearer resistant to another solution, such as wearing something else? Does she like only one perfume? Can she wear a “skin scent”? Can't she wear less? Certainly management should also have been involved; how can an electrical outlet on company property be used against management's permission to power one of those plug-in “fragrances”, which, as I understand it, was also part of the problem?
The complainer is also responsible for trying to work this out peacefully. Can the she work in another area of the office? Of course, if she cannot get away from the scent, that's another question. The complainer is a captive audience for the creativity of the perfume wearer–you can't not work where the work is. I sing in a choir, and it is an unwritten rule that you don't wear perfume when performing with the group. This is because people can be a little more fragile when perfoming onstage–the lights are hot, the venue is often stuffy, and those factors can intensify perfumes; but, most important, if someone's fragrance bothers you, can't just walk away from it. Strong perfume can be the straw that breaks a nervous performer's back; people can faint or throw up.
But still. If they can't come to some intra-office solution, it seems likely that there is another personality conflict going on.
Agree w/ all of that!
LOL at “enough to take down the Kremlin”…
Hmmm. None of us have an inherent right to “express ourselves” via perfume in the workplace — offices are free to establish policies prohibiting fragrance if they wish, and I don't see why someone need have a “genuine allergy” in order to have a valid medical complaint.
Hmmm…. I work in an office where the smell of mold and mildew stops people in their tracks (you don't want to be the first one to open the door after a 3-day weekend around here). So I'm sympathetic to working in an area where a smell affects you to the point of causing physical problems. But it just amazes me that this wasn't resolved within the organization. It makes me think that there is more involved here than the article indicates.
alotofscents, I used to work in a zoo where we had the same “no perfume” rule. I forgot one day and gave myself a good spray before I left the house for work. One of the giraffes came up to me, stopped about 10 feet away, and I SWEAR, he wrinkled his nose and ran away. Nothing like giraffe commentary on your perfume!
Totally agree on both counts. I believe the sufferer's misery is genuine and debilitating, and she shouldn't have to put up with it. I just wish that her workplace had acted before things got to this stage (by banning scents or other measures), because it is going to be very difficult for her to prove a disability in court.
First it was cigarette smoke, now it's perfume. Will we ever get to music invading my space? It's not my choice to hear music in stores. I'd certainly stay longer if they turned it down/off so I could think about what I'm buying. While smoke IS a health issue, I don't think any autosy has revealed death by perfume. What ever happend to being considerate to other human beings? If someone ever commented on my perfume because it made them ill, I just wouldn't wear it anymore in their presence.
Why, oh why, do the heavy spritzers wear the heaviest fragrances? Can they not smell how overpowering they are? Do their spouses or friends not detect the cloying scent anymore. We sat behind a heavy spritzer on a flight from NYC to London one time and I was absolutely miserable. I could not sleep and developed a wicked migraine that lasted long after the awful flight . Ironically, the woman was at the same function we attended and she did not recognize us as the people who rode behind her for 8 hours (we had exchanged pleasantries on the plane). Perhaps, she was just as clueless as to her surroundings as she was to her annoying fragrance.
LMAO
My animals love Le Jardin De Romantiques by YSL…it must be the green grass note.
The women filing the lawsuit is a big baby. I have serious medical conditions recognised by the government and I sometimes wish we could legislate emotional sensitivity by creeps too. But this is America. We have freedom of expression. If the ku klux klan is allowed to exist than we can wear our perfumes damn it!
To take a personal issue to court is ludicrous. If it is a case of personal harassment, I can see it. Having been a victim of sexual harassment myself, taking a perfume issue to the level of court is extremely, extremely petty. Solve your personal issues yourself you cowardly litigious woman! There are people with truly horrible things happening to them.
shaking my head,
Becca
“Death By Perfume” – I love it. That shall be the title of my next book.
I also have been around people who do not bath. Human funk (if some niche company hasn't bottled it by now) is my least favorite.
And a law should be made there to hose them down!
Wish I could get my local supermarket to turn off the annoying music…
I suppose if you wore the same fragrance so long that it gave you olfactory fatigue, your spouse might have the same problem — they wouldn't smell it anymore.
We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. There isn't anything in the constitution that gives you a legal right to wear perfume to work.
Actually, I've thought of this before but while shopping this past weekend I realized that the ridiculously loud music they play in a lot of retail stores is what makes me more edgy than anything else — I'm sure there've been a zillion corporate focus groups showing that loud music boosts sales or something, but I think it's a certifiable blight. There… I've gotten that crankypants rant off my chest. 😉
This story is loaded with issues, one of which really burns me up. That's the abdication of personal responsibility.
One of those women is responsible for being considerate of her workmates and not “gassing” them out of the place. (Spritz LESS and lose the Glade Plug-In!) But the other is responsible for sorting it out in a civilised manner and not resorting to the law. If neither of those courses works, their employer is responsible for sorting it out once and for all. No court time, no clogging up the system, no huge lawyer fees.
“Personal Expression” has limits – that's why we made laws in the first place… But the law is not your father or mother either, and shouldn't be treated as such. So these people should suck it up and TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. And be polite and considerate of one another while you're at it.
(I remember reading a suggestion once years ago that if a judge deems a case to be silly or vexatious, the lawyer(s) brining the case should have to pay all the fees incurred. So it wouldn't just be “no foal, no fee,” but also “silly case, you pay the bills not the people you're suing, or your client.” Now THAT would sort out the legal system in a matter of weeks!)
I don't like the loud music, and also don't like hearing the iconic music of my youth used as muzak for people shopping for hamburger patties…see, i can do crankypants too!
Hard to say based on what little we know from the newspapers if anybody actually abdicated personal responsibility here or if the parties involved simply could not agree.
Hearing the Police, Bowie and U2 to muzak is a hard pill to swallow!
Something soothing, (Ravel, Debussy, Dvorak) perhaps would work? Good to stay away from Wagner, at least for shopping.
Nor tight skirts and a lot of cleavage, but it happens. I should sue my secretary for trying to seduce me. She also belongs to the KKK.
It doesn't bother the boss man, so it won't be handled internally.
If you are truly concerned with freedom of expression, where do you draw the line? No-one has the right to deliberately inflict injury to another person. My scent defines me, I make a statement with it. But if it causes harm..REAL harm, I would cease and desist.