My Urgent Plea to Utah Legislature to Please Authorize All Employers in Utah to Prefer to Hire Nonsmokers

I will be very grateful to the State of Utah if this proposed new state law for Utah gets approved by the Utah Legislature in early 2024:

----- Forwarded Message -----

From: "John McMillan" <mcmillanj@att.net>

To: "Joel Briscoe" <jbriscoe@le.utah.gov>, "Jplumb" <jplumb@le.utah.gov>, "Angela Romero" <angelaromero@le.utah.gov>, "Mark A. Strong" <mstrong@le.utah.gov>, "Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson 2021" <beckiepage@utah.gov>, "Office of Gov. Spencer Cox" <govcomm@utah.gov>, "Utah League of Cities and Towns 2022" <swood@ulct.org>, "Utah Restaurant Association 2022" <info@utahrestaurantassociation.org>, "ANR Foundation Library" <library@no-smoke.org>, "CBS News '60 Minutes' Editors and Reporters" <60m@cbsnews.com>, "anr@no-smoke.org" <anr@no-smoke.org>, "Cyprus Credit Union" <shauna.denos@cypruscu.com>, "Naccho Info" <info@naccho.org>, "Tfk Info" <info@tfk.org>, "cancer@utah.org" <cancer@utah.org>, "legaldepartment@cancer.org" <legaldepartment@cancer.org>, "cammie.edgar@cancer.org" <cammie.edgar@cancer.org>, "newsmedia@ldschurch.org" <newsmedia@ldschurch.org>, "Him-roi" <him-roi@umail.utah.edu>, "Joe Dougherty (DHHS)" <joedougherty@utah.gov>, "Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall 2021" <mayor@slcgov.com>, "County Council Member Bradshaw" <arbradshaw@slco.org>, "Salt Lake City (UT) City Council" <council.comments@slcgov.com>, "Deseret News 2022" <dnweb@deseretnews.com>, "marie.stewart" <marie.stewart@slcgov.com>, "jsweeney@sltrib.com" <jsweeney@sltrib.com>, "laborcom@utah.gov" <laborcom@utah.gov>, "Fox News SLC 2022" <news@fox13now.com>, "nbauer@abc4.com" <nbauer@abc4.com>, "Jennifer Gardiner" <jgardiner@abc4.com>, "University of Utah Student Newspaper 2022" <press@chronicle.utah.edu>, "Utah State University Provost 2022" <provost@usu.edu>, "Westminster College Legal-Risk Mgment-Safety2022" <bbuckley@westminstercollege.edu>, "Utah Public Radio 2022" <tom.williams@usu.edu>, "Utah Peace Officers Association 2022" <homeupoa@gmail.com>, "Utah State Univ Communications 2022" <ucom@usu.edu>, "communications@utahbar.org" <communications@utahbar.org>, "waytoquit@utah.gov" <waytoquit@utah.gov>, "Utah Medical Association 2021" <info@utahmed.org>, "mark.coffield" <mark.coffield@mail.house.gov>, "Joel_wellum" <joel_wellum@lee.senate.gov>, "Internships" <internships@romney.senate.gov>, "liam.anderson" <liam.anderson@mail.house.gov>, "Utah Republican Party" <info@utgop.org>

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Sent: Sun, Sep 24, 2023 at 1:02 AM

Subject: Need UT law to boost employers' right to hire nonsmokers

https://pivot.co/blog/smoking-and-workplace-productivity?fbclid=IwAR2d_-k1fmsrMrIEfuUuCc0_vznzja5xMI-29lQUzXF2U8Wv7PYaM1GArBU#:~:text=Smoking%20negatively%20impacts%20workplace%20productivity,year%20compared%20to%20non%2Dsmokers.

September 24, 2023

Dear Utah  State Representative Joel Briscoe and Utah State Senator Dr. Jen Plumb,

I am a gainfully employed, permanently alcohol-free, lifelong-single, white male adult constituent of each of you very honorable members of the Utah Legislature.

I am also a lifelong abstainer from any and all tobacco products and vaping products.

I am writing  today to (ask) each of you very influential  state legislators to please author or sponsor a proposed new state law for Utah that authorizes any employer in Utah to prefer to hire job applicants who each  sign a notarized  statement declaring that they have  not consumed any tobacco product or any vaping product at any time in the most recent 12-month period through the present.

The notarized statement could also state on behalf of each of those job applicants in Utah that they are very  committed to continuing their own permanent  abstention from any and all tobacco and vaping products on a  lifelong basis.

As a courtesy to each of you Utah  state lawmakers, I am providing each of you with a factually informative copyrighted  online link (above) to a website  that contains the following statements:

"When looking at the impact tobacco use has, it’s most insidiously found in absenteeism, specifically work days lost to illness. Smokers average a 31% higher sick-leave rate compared to non-smokers, and take, on average, almost three more sick days per year than non-smokers according to the journal Addiction. Such lost time wreaks havoc on employee earnings and employer scheduling, especially for businesses with shift-based workers....

"Tobacco use is a primary cause of presenteeism, otherwise known as lost productivity when workers are on the job, but are less effective. One of the most visible forms of presenteeism? Smoking breaks. Some workers average 8 minutes a day per smoke break, but for high tobacco use industries like construction, the average smoking worker took a total of 73 minutes worth of smoking breaks per day."

Utah State Rep. Briscoe and Utah State Senator Plumb, I hope to soon receive a reply letter from each of you in regard to whether you are willing to author, sponsor, or co-sponsor a proposed new state law of this type for  the upcoming session of the Utah State Legislature.

Sincerely and Best Wishes,

John Kevin McMillan, 535 South 200 East, Apt. 912, Salt Lake City, UT 84111.

Cell phone: (512) 993-7305.

Home phone: (801) 355-0850.

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