One of Iowa’s largest hospitals plans to only hire non-smokers. Starting July 1st, prospective employees of Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines will have to submit to a urine test which will check for nicotine.
If it’s found in your system, you’ll have to quit the cigarettes and you’ll be allowed to reapply for the job — and take another urine test — after six months. An official with the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says it’s legal, though some states have forbidden employers from such discrimination.
Hospital officials say the current 6,600 employees will not be tested, but they’ll be encouraged to quit if they smoke.