Comments on: The Sweet Smell of (Legal) Success

By: Mary

Mary — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:54:48 +0000

Believe me, I let my employer know. HR received 3 doctors’ notes, called the employee in and spoke with her, as did my boss, but she refused to stop wearing it. I’ve done everything I could possibly do, and still got nowhere. My next action was to sue, but I decided to retire instead.

By: Mizuha

Mizuha — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:43:38 +0000

Brian F

I totally agree

By: Brian F

Brian F — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 04:42:32 +0000

You all are morons as is the woman who filed the lawsuit. I found this case in the denver court system.

Allergies are very real – however you need to let the employer know that you suffer from this and let them take steps. This employee did not do that and relied on passive aggressive comments to the co-worker without ever specifying that she suffered from an allergy.

This b$tch needs to grow up and learn speak to her employer before filing a lawsuit. This could have been resolved amicably and to the satisfaction of all (unless the woman wanted money) if she had just spoke up

By: Mary

Mary — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 10:23:32 +0000

Mizuha, I make a choice about where to go. If a host of a party is known for wearing perfume, I choose not to go to the party. BUT, if I am mandated to go to work, I expect the air that I breathe is not life threatening. You’re being the asshole here because you’re not willing to compromise. Wear your damn perfume someplace other than the workplace, and I promise not to go near you. Deal?

By: Mizuha

Mizuha — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:33:06 +0000

Might as well make perfume illegal period since no matter where you wear it, some assholes are going to complain about it. There’s going to come a time when said assholes go into someone’s house and then try to sue the owners for wearing perfume in their own home!

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:07:56 +0000

Thank you freysson! You said exactly what I’ve been trying to say for years! I finally had to retire from my job that I’ve had for 26 years because of the new employee who just would not stop wearing that crappy perfume, even after HR told her to stop!

One day it’s going to be mandatory that employees not wear perfume in the workplace, and I can’t wait until that day comes.

By: ogelsviebr

ogelsviebr — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 17:55:48 +0000

intensity 103 upper

By: Freysson

Freysson — Thu, 13 May 2010 20:09:17 +0000

As a health care provider I have seen people who have major cognative impairments from many things, including the type of deturgent used on their clothes. Yes thig stuff will make a number of people major league sick. Not uncomfortable, but life threteningly ill.

As for the freeedon to overdo that is being discussed here, lets realize that there is no right to wear perfume. It does not exist. And to put this is a slightly different context “you can drink what you want in your water but you don’t have the right to poison the well”. The atmosphere is a COMMON resource that we all depend on. Noone has the right to make it toxic to another. While normal levels may be tolerated well by most people, there are some for whom it will be poisonous. Generally consideration will stop most abuses, but the law and lawsuits are there when it does not.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Tue, 04 May 2010 00:50:02 +0000

In case anyone care, I have been seeing a chiropractor… and they claim my back was, well, off the charts in some areas. I have been seeing her for about two months now… and my sensitivities have gone down slightly. Go figure. I still hurt, but the reaction is not so knee jerk now. Of course it could be that my boss is back at work now, so people are laying off the stuff so much.

By: Anna

Anna — Mon, 03 May 2010 22:48:16 +0000

Okay. As a person without allergies, scent-sensitivity, or any known health problems (that’s right, one of the FIT), I just want to know WHY it is so hard to be considerate of other people. No one has said “don’t wear deodorant and stink like a pig” or even “don’t wear perfume at all because I am more important”. All anyone has asked for is some consideration!

Here’s a tip: It is recommended that you wear perfume on your pulse points. It only requires one spray to wear it properly (spray your wrist, rub them together, then rub your neck), and it would probably be a lot easier on sensitive people than using it like a body spray.

Also, using it an hour before you leave gives some harsher chemichals (such as alcohol) the time to “calm” a bit.

Also, keep in mind that just because you’ve gotten used to the smell, doesn’t mean it’s gone. Reapplication at work is unnecessary.

And of course, as one person pointed out, perfumes and scents should not be used as a replacement for proper hygeine.

I’ll never understand why people can’t just practice some consideration. I mean, we all have to live and work together, and coexist in peace. Why make it harder for ourselves?

By: Mary

Mary — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 13:58:23 +0000

Bravo, Kevin! Bravo! I guess there’s just no convincing some people how debilitating this really is.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 04:51:32 +0000

Boy Ashely, clearly un-enlightened and although you think you do, you don’t know what you are talking about. And by the way, you are the one whining now. These people are not talking about allergies. They have been to doctors and many have no clue what to do about this, but it is real and it is debilitating. For example, In some countries people do not use water to bath. They smell like hell. Lets see you work in a cubicle next to one and not complain. And that is just because of a foul smell. These people don’t complain about things like that. (most people do.) they reserve the complaining for things that prevent them from functioning on the job like fragrances that cause them to experience lung PAIN, an inability to breath, often leading to panic and anxiety. Also, the chemicals in the fragrance can cause them to go into a state of confusion, or even fight or flight mode. This is not Asthema… that would be too easy. They would also take your smelly friend over the fragrance or chemicals any day.

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:51:48 +0000

Oh dear….here we go. Hello, Ashley! I’ve been to more doctors and been through so many xrays and MRIs, that I can’t even count anymore. The one bitch who’s wearing the perfume in my dept. (THE KEYWORD HERE BEING “ONE BITCH”) was told to stop wearing it, and still refuses. She’s defiant, vindictive, and she’s just ONE person doing this. It’s not like I’m asking that the rest of the world stop wearing this stuff. Good Lord, you are so fucking selfish for even making your posting. Most of your diatribe I can’t even get through reading. All I hear is blah, blah, blah, blah. YOU are selfish, do you understand?? HR told this bitch to stop wearing it and she refuses. NOW what do you have to say, bitch? Yes, I’m calling you a bitch because, frankly, someone like you who doesn’t have to work next to this 7 hours a day, simply is being inconsiderate. This is exactly why lawsuits happen. Try having a little empathy instead of mouthing off, will ya?

By: Ashley

Ashley — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:08:07 +0000

I can see some more ridiculous lawsuits brewing! For the ones who bitch and moan about their allergies-Here is a some tips for you: There are these people called DOCTORS, okay, perhaps you have heard of them? Go to a doctor and explain you situation, and in return he/she will give you..*wait for it*…MEDICATIONS! There are so, so many different kinds of them now! Wow, amazing, huh? Whodathunkit? And before one of you get their ‘panties in a wad’, I have allergies to alot of perfumes, cleaners, etc, but I take my medications and deal with it! Why should the few who have allergies possibly take away the freedoms of many? People like you are so quick to label someone ’selfish’ because they will not cease using their ‘offensive’ fragrances, but I have to ask, what is your definition of ’selfish’? Seriously, because from what I’m seeing, you guys are just as guilty of selfishness as the one’s you are accusing, because you want things done YOUR way. Selfish? Absolutely.
I also get tired of you people, you morons, that say “I’ve been out of work for ‘x’ number of days because of this, and it messes with my head..blah, blah…” No, not going to work because scents have made you ‘ill’=being lazy and making up excuses. Complaining that it causes confusion, and ‘impaired cognition’?? That is completely absurd! Unless your snorting the shit, then maybe I could believe it. Take your meds and stop expecting people to feel sorry for you. Just by agreeing to this lawsuit already shows me that your mind is incompetent, so why do you blame it on the ’scents’? Am I saying that having allergies are the victims fault? Of course not, I have them, lots of people have them..no one asks for these things to happen to them, but alas, it’s called LIFE, shit happens, it shouldn’t mean that these idiots should cry about it and make life miserable for everyone else. There are a ton of people who have worse medical problems than ‘allergies’, and they still operate like normal people, unless they are absolutely unable to do so. I know this is wishful thinking, nothing can ever be so simple. So, make yourself feel better and sue, go ahead. If this keeps up, any type of scents will no longer be allowed in work places, then who do you think are going to be the first ones to bitch and moan when the bathroom starts to smell horrible? Or the break area?
What about co-workers who have poor personal hygiene habits? I would rather smell someone who bathes everyday and is a little heavy on the perfume or cologne, than someone who doesn’t, regardless of allergies. It just saddens me what this country has become, it’s a haven for mostly self-serving, hypocritical, attention-seeking “high-schoolers” who are masqueraded as adults. Allergies and other medical problems have been around since the dawn of time. Did people centuries ago have the medications and technology that we have now for their ailments? Of course not. They had to deal with the problems they had with little or no treatment. Sure, alot of them died because the doctors then didn’t have the proper treatments or didn’t know how to treat it, but they were not suing each other in record numbers because of their problems.

I know this is a very extensive and a brutally harsh comment, but these days, it’s hard to be anything but. I’m sure soon, these ’scents’ in the workplace are going to get booted out the door. So, my final question is this: What’s going to be next? I’m scared to think about what it could be. It really doesn’t matter what ‘freedoms’ and ‘luxuries’ will no longer be allowed or taken away. There will always be something that is going to piss off and offend the overly-sensitive and dramatic group in this country. The next ‘big’ thing will get booted, then the next, and so on and so on, until the simple pleasures in life will be paid at the highest costs. As I stated before, who do you think will be the first ones to bitch when and if that ever happens? The ones who caused all of it. So, with all this being said, to the ones who are whiners-pull your head out of your ass, grow the fuck up, and get over yourself, and stop trying to make everyone miserable like yourselves, and if you can’t manage to do that, then maybe you need reconsider the purpose of your life, because it’s a complete waste.

By: Mary

Mary — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:00:21 +0000

I’ll pray for you, Kevin. It just shouldn’t be allowed. The woman with the candle warmer came from another work site, and is now on my floor. Even though she’s 100 yards from me, I still smell it, and yes, I, too, have bloody tissues to show for it.

Well the shit IS going to hit the fan this week, so I can’t wait to see the results, if any.

By: kevin

kevin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:58:17 +0000

Sorry about that last one, but I have been using eye drops like crazy this week and it only helps stop the burning so much when it is bad at work. Then there is also confusion, inability to focus, and occasional uncontrolable yawning and gasping for air. So, I think I have a right to be peeved. BTW, much of it is caused by scented lotions as well as the many others that wear too much perfume 25 feet from my desk. 5 to 10 people at a time. The woman in front of me smokes and puts on this lotion that is bothersome. By herself it is bearable if she does not go overboard, but combine it with the others and forget it. The other day she came in from smoking… the hooks for jackets are behind me, and she sits in a cubicle in front of me. I had her ciggarett stench and perfume from in front and behind. A draft wafts over her jacket and into my face. Pretty much sucks. Our office is moving in a few weeks. I can only hope it will be better in the new office. I am not religous, but pray for me.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:44:50 +0000

Violence is never the answer, but I know what you mean. Sometimes the pain is sharp and severe. Especially when my sinuses are raw. Harsh enough to cause my body to jerk and let out a groan in pain. I have plenty of bloody tissues to show for it. I have also noticed that our Project manager has said something about it, but when he goes on a trip, and especially on fridays, people pour it on. I really don’t see what the problem is. Even if it didn’t cause pain and suffering… If I don’t like it and it bothers me and others feel the same way, it should not be allowed in the work environment… or at least around me in the work environment. put some on your finger and put it up your nose so you and only you can smell it. Then go F___ yourself.

By: joe

joe — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:29:10 +0000

Maybe if all the people who are hurt physically and mentally by these unnecessary fragrances were to react with equal physical force and beat the crap out of these people… especially impairing their ability to work or go home and relax… people would take them more seriously. Some times I want to beat the shit out of several people at work.

By: Mary

Mary — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 14:55:50 +0000

I really would like to add an analogy to the above.

What if anyone of you who are NOT allergic to this stuff, were having a party. And what would happen if I came to your party and sat at your kitchen table and smoked a pack of cigarettes without asking you if it was okay, or even if it would bother you? You wouldn’t like it, I’m sure, and would ask me to either leave the party, or smoke somewhere else. THAT’S what I’m going through right now. These new people never bothered to ask if it was against company policy or to ask anyone if they would be bothered by it.

People just need to be a little more understanding to those of us with severe allergies. Not using these things at work won’t kill anyone, but using them WILL kill me. I think that’s the best way to describe it. Just think about others once in awhile, that’s all I’m asking.

By: Mary

Mary — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 14:50:56 +0000

Tianna, yes, some people fake it so they think they won’t have to work another day in their lives, but I can tell you that these allergies are real in most cases. Since I last wrote to this site, I have been to our HR dept. with THREE notes from doctors saying I can’t be around these scents. It’s overwhelming, to say the least. Mondays I usually feel great, but by mid-week, I’m just a basket case because I can’t breathe.

The crap is going to hit the fan next week when I finally get my chance to meet with the people who are making me sick. They already know, but now we’ll be going into a meeting with HR to finally bring this to an end.

One woman who was new to our area (not in our dept, but her office was close enough to mine to cause severe symptoms), was asked to tone down her candle warmer, if possible. She shrugged it off as if it was no big deal. I reported her for using an electric candle warmer. She was told it was not allowed in the company, but refused to unplug it. I followed up with HR and security, and they told her she had to unplug it. She finally did, but this ain’t over yet.

I try to be understanding when asking people to tone down their fragrances, and they all get defensive about it. Why?? It’s not a personal thing. It’s just that I can not breathe when around them.