In California, an employer is prohibited from maintaining a place of employment that is not secure or healthy. Section 5148 of the California Code of Regulations bars smoking in any place of employment. Workplace smoking laws apply to working environments where more than five employees work. Smoking is prohibited in all enclosed private and public workspaces, lounges, covered parking lots, restrooms, lobbies, stairwells, and elevators. Smoking is allowed in special smoking rooms and warehouses of an area more than 100,000 sq.ft., where less than 20 employees work.

The Role of the Employer

An employer must take a proven and reasonable step towards preventing smoking at workplaces. Signs must be posted in non-smoking areas. He/she should not permit smoking in any enclosed place of employment. Instead, the employer may also designate special smoking areas in the workplaces where smoking can be permitted or he/she can also claim an entire area of the office as a non-smoking area. And if at all an employer wants to permit one of his five or fewer employees for smoking, then he may allow only if:

– All his employees don’t have a problem and agree to it.

– Minors are not allowed inside the designated smoking area.

– No other employee needs to enter the designated area for any work.

Requirements for Designated Smoking Area

The designated smoking area should be a non-work area as well. There should be no need for any employee to enter or use that area for work purposes. The area should have properly fitted exhaust fans that can exhaust the air directly outside so that the unclean air doesn’t get circulated to other rooms of the office building.

Accommodation for Non-smokers

Break rooms are designated in all the offices. In California, there are break rooms especially for smokers while there are break rooms for non-smokers as well.

Written/Oral Employer Policies

Local laws that help in regulating smoking may need employers to make a policy on some areas. Though it is not a compulsion by the legislation in California, employers are free to adopt or make policies for smoking in their workplaces. But the employer doesn’t have the right to throw out or differentiate between any of his employees for smoking, away from the workplace premises during the non-working hours.

Violation of Workplace Smoking Laws

Any violation of workplace smoking laws will cost you with a fine of $100 when violated for the first time, $200 when violated for the second and $500 when violated for the third time in the period of one year.

Know Your Law

If you want to know more about California workplace smoking law or want to refer to the concerned law, they will be available at Cal. Lab Sections 96, 98.6, 6404.5.

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