Woman Sues Over Excessive Perfume

[MIGrandma]

Did anyone see this on The Early Show this morning? Apparantly a woman in Detroit was getting migraine headaches, nausea and coughing from having to smell the excessive perfume of the woman in the next cubicle where she works. She asked her boss about it and he just blew her off. So she sued the city...and won $100,000. What are your thoughts about people who wear excessive perfume and colognes?

For me, they do make me nauseous if I have to be around them for a very long period of time so I can't even imagine having to work in that environment. DH doesn't even wear cologne anymore because it makes me nauseous.

 

[golfgal]

Ridiculous. No, she should not have had to put up with it. I am curious what other steps she took--did she talk to the coworker? Did she go over her bosses head? Did she asked to get moved to another part of the office or ask for the perfume wearer to get moved? What a waste of taxpayer money.

 

[MIGrandma]

Ridiculous. No, she should not have had to put up with it. I am curious what other steps she took--did she talk to the coworker? Did she go over her bosses head? Did she asked to get moved to another part of the office or ask for the perfume wearer to get moved? What a waste of taxpayer money.

They didn't say what other steps she took, just that she talked to her boss about it and he blew her off. DH and I talked about it too and wondered if she said anything to the co-worker, or asked to be moved to a different part of the office, etc.

It's getting ridiculous what people will sue over, for any little thing. I mean, I wouldn't like working near the woman either but I can't imagine sueing the city over it. The pathetic part of it is though, she won! That is why people sue over stupid stuff, they know they can win.

 

[golfgal]

They didn't say what other steps she took, just that she talked to her boss about it and he blew her off. DH and I talked about it too and wondered if she said anything to the co-worker, or asked to be moved to a different part of the office, etc.

It's getting ridiculous what people will sue over, for any little thing. I mean, I wouldn't like working near the woman either but I can't imagine sueing the city over it. The pathetic part of it is though, she won! That is why people sue over stupid stuff, they know they can win.

No kidding, these lawsuits are just so far out of hand, I mean, if you are not smart enough to know that if you put a cup of coffee between your legs while driving is a stupid idea.....

 

[Tink888]

Perfumes also make me nauseous and give me headaches so I couldn't imagine putting up with that every day and no one should have to, especially at work.

100,000.00 is a lot of money. I also wonder whether she tried talking to her co-worker and whether the co-worker was included in the suit. And if anyone tried to settle for a smaller amount. It'd be a real shame if the settlement funds are coming from tax dollars.

It definitely makes a statement.

 

[dawson5]

My neighbor gets migraines because of perfume (excessive amounts). She said the pills she has to take for them are $25/each. She has problems even going to the mall. Not so much for the people she might encounter but the stores. I'm not sure how I feel about this though. Perfume isn't a requirement and if it causes that much pain something should have been done. $100,000 is a lot though. I guess it must be considered a form of assault. It's the only thing that makes sense. I would seriously love to read an article to see more.

edit: the mcdonald's story that you are commenting on. It was not just a scald, it was a burn. I would be more disgusted in the guy who sued because of the pickle burning the roof of his mouth. Or the lady who sued the dealership because she assumed that cruise control was autopilot on her rv and went in the back to make a sandwich.
http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm

That is the first one I pulled up. I am pretty sure I read somewhere that they had been cited for it being too hot a few times prior to this case.

 

[MIGrandma]

I would seriously love to read an article to see more.

You could probably go to The Early Show at CBS.com and there would be more information there, as that is where we saw it this morning.

 

[DVCLiz]

They didn't say what other steps she took, just that she talked to her boss about it and he blew her off. DH and I talked about it too and wondered if she said anything to the co-worker, or asked to be moved to a different part of the office, etc.

It's getting ridiculous what people will sue over, for any little thing. I mean, I wouldn't like working near the woman either but I can't imagine sueing the city over it. The pathetic part of it is though, she won! That is why people sue over stupid stuff, they know they can win.

I totally disagree. I think it would be ridiculous to force a worker in a close office environment to suffer migraines induced by something that could easily be remedied. I'm totally with the worker on this one and I'm glad she sued - sometimes you have to take legal action to get a satisfactory result. In this case, the satisfactory result also came with a check. I say good for her - the boss should have stepped in far earlier and made a realistic decision based on the health of the worker, not on the right of the co-worker to douse herself in perfume.

 

[Carl]

I'm a "non odor" person, too. Usually I don't get upset by a little perfume on someone else, but what really bothers me is that the various soap companies make it difficult to find odor free versions of laundry detergent, etc. I found it amazing that it is impossible in Europe to find a scent free deodorant there. Also, Disney does not have a scent free deodorant available that I know of on property.

 

[dawson5]

You could probably go to The Early Show at CBS.com and there would be more information there, as that is where we saw it this morning.

I found the video clip and watched. More of a "fluff" piece, not a lot of information. I did find this:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2007-07-05-detroit_N.htm

Still not a lot of information.

If you look at it from a different angle, what if she had a peanut allergy and spoke with her boss about a co-worker eating a PB&J at her desk? What about someone with asthma and having to deal with a smoker? (extreme examples but still effects someone's ability to work) I think it should have been handled internally and never should have made it this far.

 

[joviroxx]

From what I've read, she was a city employee and now all city employees are being "urged" not to wear anything perfumed including lotions (body and hand), colognes, scented deodorants and the like. I mean really, no magazine with perfumed inserts either? Geesh!

Im sorry, but when will this stop. There is always something that will bother someone, we are all going to have to live like robots to "protect" everyone else. Ridiculous!


http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/state&id=7330627

 

[golfgal]

My neighbor gets migraines because of perfume (excessive amounts). She said the pills she has to take for them are $25/each. She has problems even going to the mall. Not so much for the people she might encounter but the stores. I'm not sure how I feel about this though. Perfume isn't a requirement and if it causes that much pain something should have been done. $100,000 is a lot though. I guess it must be considered a form of assault. It's the only thing that makes sense. I would seriously love to read an article to see more.

edit: the mcdonald's story that you are commenting on. It was not just a scald, it was a burn. I would be more disgusted in the guy who sued because of the pickle burning the roof of his mouth. Or the lady who sued the dealership because she assumed that cruise control was autopilot on her rv and went in the back to make a sandwich.
http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm

That is the first one I pulled up. I am pretty sure I read somewhere that they had been cited for it being too hot a few times prior to this case.

You are missing the point--I realize it was a serious burn but the point is she was STUPID to put the cup there in the first place--it's called personal responsibility. Where is HER fault in this case. A reasonable person KNOWS coffee is hot.

 

[mom2rb]

My brother is allergic to perfume so I don't wear it around him. It is not that hard. I work with kids that have many allergies, I don't bring foods to work that bother them. What an uncaring co-worker to keep wearing so much perfume.

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

I'm not sure if suing was the best option, but honestly, good for her. I have severe allergies, and if I get one whiff of someone who got carried away when they spritzed their perfume then I am miserable. That scent stays in my nose all day and the only way to cure it is a shower which really isn't plausible at work.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

It seems her employer was unable to accomodate her needs and thus her lawsuit was justified and hence she was awarded money.

I'd see it no different than someone with any other kind of medical issue and the boss just said "meh" and did nothing.

I'm allergic to perfumes and while I don't get debilitating pain via a migraine, I cannot be around it.

Someone broke the display of perfume at the store in EPCOT. I had been standing outside waiting for my (adult) family. We heard the crash, I began to smell and I had to high tale it out of there (the exterior walkway) holding my breath.

It wont' kill me that I know of--but I didn't have so much as a Benadryl with me and being pregnant, the side effects are much worse when my allergies tip off (i.e. I still get morning sickness and an allergy reaction can trigger my gag reflex).

I of course won't sue--I hadn't expected the display to break or anything and it was a PERFUME store.

But I couldn't work in an environment where someone bathes in Chanel on a daily basis. And if my work had a policy and it was not honored--it would be pretty upsetting.

A work environment is much different than a social or public setting, IMHO and there is a reasonable expectation that your boss won't allow other people to willfully make you sick when you bring something to their attention. Especially if what they are making you sick with has nothing to do with the job.

Now if she worked in a perfume factory--she'd have no case. But that's probably why she chose to work for the city.

 

[dawson5]

You are missing the point--I realize it was a serious burn but the point is she was STUPID to put the cup there in the first place--it's called personal responsibility. Where is HER fault in this case. A reasonable person KNOWS coffee is hot.

most coffees are kept at 155 degrees, that was at 180. Enough to cause her to be hospitalized for 7 days and having skin grafts? I expect hot coffee but not enough to maim me.

http://lawandhelp.com/q298-2.htm

I think it probably had a lot to do with the fact that they were warned repeatedly and there were over 700 complaints about it.

 

[Jockaroo]

I grew up with several people with fragrance sensitivities and my husband is allergic to most perfumes (actually he is allergic to the world basically), so I can sympathize with the woman at this office. I choose not to wear perfumes, although I really do love certain scents. I've suffered a few migraines and can't imagine being able to function having these frequently. The case is the woman had an issue at work and tried to talk to the boss. Didn't help. Did she talk to co-worker? HR? We don't really know.

With most of the people I know with fragrance allergies, the problem is with one particular scent--hubby excluded--see allergic to the world comment.

While to us in our day-to-day life, $100,000 seems like a huge amount of cash. In corporate law, this is a pittance.

 

[Becky2005]

It's getting ridiculous what people will sue over, for any little thing. I mean, I wouldn't like working near the woman either but I can't imagine sueing the city over it. The pathetic part of it is though, she won! That is why people sue over stupid stuff, they know they can win.

Bingo!! And then everyone wonders why people are so paranoid for everything assuming they WILL be sued. Duh!!! People complain that no one says they are sorry for anything or attempt to help but that's because people know if they say or do anything, the person they are helping is going to turn around and sue them for the heck of it because they see $$$$$$$$$$ and people are greedy.

I know it's a cynical look at things but all one has to do is look in the papers, listen to the news, read message boards -- 1/2 the time the answer immediately is "sue them" for lots of things.

It's also why you get all the warnings on everything to the point of insanity but it's to CYA so that when you do get sued, you hopefully won't lose.

I'm just wondering if it was the particular type of perfume not so much the amount and what if it was her deoderant instead or other things? It seems like if there isn't more to this story in ways of trying to correct anything -- her first answer after the boss didn't really do much was to immediately sue. So, now that she has the money, does that mean she is going to quit her job or is she still just stuck sitting next to the person who wears too much perfume? Can the person who apparently wore what the other people deemed excessive sue for mental anguish (sp?) for being part of this?

 

[Spinning]

I get really bad headaches from perfume so I can totally relate. I have had to have seats changed due to it or cover my mouth and nose for a flight etc...
Would I sue? Wouldn't have even crossed my mind that was something I could sue over so I guess no. But my question to this lady, what changed by sueing? Do you still have your job? Does the lady have to stop wearing it? Did the lady loose her job?
Just cause you got money won't fix the problem unless other things were changed.

 

[Kathi OD]

This has been ongoing litigation for almost 3 years!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,288130,00.html

Employee Sues City Over Co-Worker's Perfume, Seeks Ban on Scents

DETROIT — A Detroit city employee who says she can't work because a co-worker's perfume is too strong is suing the city.

Susan McBride's lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, says the work environment is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

McBride wants a ban on such scents at work — and unspecified damages.

City spokesman Matt Allen declined to comment, telling The Detroit News the city does not normally comment on litigation or personnel issues.

McBride, who joined the planning department in 2000, says problems started a year ago when the co-worker, who isn't identified in the lawsuit, transferred into her department.

"This employee not only wore a strong scent, but also plugged in a scented room deodorizer," the lawsuit states. "Ms. McBride was overcome by the smell almost instantly, causing her to go home sick."

The co-worker later agreed to stop using the room deodorizer but kept using perfume, the lawsuit states.

McBride alleges the scents forced her to miss significant time from work, require medical treatment, and to suspend fertility treatments because of other medications she has to take, according to The Detroit News.

Just saying, if someone knows they are causing another person to become ill, that's wrong. For her boss, or the city, to not address the problem is also wrong. Should the woman have had to quit her job because of her inconsiderate coworker and unrepsonsive boss? She did what she needed to do in order to keep working.

I am not allergic to perfumes, or anything else for that matter. BUT, when someone's health is affected by what others are doing, then it's time for the issue to be addressed. No one needs to wear perfume to perform their office job satisfactorily. When it came to light that the perfume was making a coworker ill, it should have stopped.

I think it's sad that someone felt compelled to file a lawsuit to get their employer and coworkers to recognize the severity of the problem.

FWIW, while 100,000 is a lot of money, it's not enough to retire on, so my guess is that she is going to have to keep working. Sure hope the boss and coworker make sure the office is scent-free.