Secondhand Smoke and Casinos

Abstract

In recent years, cities and states across the country have enacted smoke-free workplace laws to protect employees from the harm caused by secondhand smoke. The fact that secondhand smoke exposure is a significant public health threat is beyond dispute. The World Health Organization, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Surgeon General all concur that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. At the same time, casino gambling has been rapidly expanding across the United States. As casino gambling expands, casino employees - like employees in any other workplace - need protection from secondhand smoke. Many existing smoke-free workplace laws, however, do not protect casino employees. This is cruelly ironic, since the secondhand smoke exposure faced by casino employees is often more severe than exposure employees experience in other workplaces This article examines the benefits of establishing smoke-free environments in casinos, various approaches for creating smoke-free casinos, and the potential legal liability for casinos that expose their employees and others to secondhand smoke. Section I reviews smoke-free workplace laws and some relevant policy concerns. Section II discusses the legal options available to casino employees exposed to secondhand smoke in the workplace, and Section III reviews the intersection between smoke-free laws and Native American sovereignty.