All of our group members have congruent opinions on WEYCO’s tobacco-free policy. Ethical values took precedence in our group discussion; collectively, we believe that WEYCO’s tobacco-free policy was an appropriate decision. This policy benefited the company with increased economic prosperity (by lowering health care costs and minimizing productivity losses due to smoking related issues), in addition to creating a healthier workforce. Furthermore, all the group members are impressed by WEYCO’s commitment and sustained efforts to implement this policy by offering both voluntary and involuntary programs. Employment is not an entitlement, and the company has a right to base employment on reasonable restrictions. The company’s restrictions on individual freedoms should be equitable and have rational purposes. In this case, the “no smoking” policy is a justified restriction because, apart from the economic burden on the company, smoking is detrimental to the general health of the employees, both by active and passive smoking. We also think that WEYCO should include a gene testing program in this policy to screen for individuals whose resistances make them less likely to achieve abstinence and have higher relapse rates due to their genetic makeup (they have the gene form that decreases activity of an enzyme that metabolizes nicotine). These individuals should be given additional resources and time to quit smoking, and their efforts should be monitored. This step is reasonable because it would ensure that individuals are not punished simply on the basis of a habit that is controlled by their genes rather than their will. However, company restrictions that infringe upon civil liberties of the employees are unacceptable, as are restrictions that are illogical, selfish, baseless, or any combination of the three.
In general, all the group members would like to work at WEYCO