National Workrights Institute
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This article is part of the Tobacco portal on Sourcewatch funded from 2006 - 2009 by the American Legacy Foundation. |
The National Workrights Institute was founded in January 2000 by Lewis Maltby, formerly head of the American Civil Liberties Union's National Taskforce on Civil Liberties in the Workplace.[1] Maltby was known for fighting policies that allow employers to refuse to hire people based on their status as nicotine users, a position he portrayed as "lifestyle discrimination," and that brought him funding from cigarette makers Philip Morris. In 1988, Philip Morris gave ACLU's national office a three year grant for $75,000 per year to support the ACLU's position defending nicotine users from discrimination in employment. Maltby leveraged this financial interest from Philip Morris and the portrayal of smoking as a lifestyle to try and "work more closely" with tobacco companies and solicit additional money from R.J. Reynolds. [2]Maltby was also wary of the use of ID scanners to verify age identification of people purchasing tobacco at retail stores, and conferred with Philip Morris on such laws.[3]
With help from Maltby, Philip Morris undertook a campaign to pass smoker discrimination laws throughout the United States. This remarkably successful campaign produced legislation in 29 states and the District of Columbia before stalling in 1993-1995. Several key states remained without laws protecting smokers, including New York and California. [4]
Sourcewatch resources
- American Civil Liberties Union
- Philip Morris
- Smoker discrimination as a PR strategy
External resources
Contact
28 Stone Cliff Road
Princeton, NJ 08540
Phone: 609 683 0313
E-Mail: info@workrights.org
References
- ↑ National Workrights Institute National Workrights Institute - Self Description/Relationships, organizational Web site, accessed Feburary 11, 2011
- ↑ Lewis Maltby, American Civil Liberties Union Employment Discrimination Against Smokers, Internal Philip Morris memo from Lewis Maltby to Jim Shields], Bates No. 2023291886/1888, 3 pages, August 13, 1990
- ↑ Lewis Maltby, American Civil Liberties Union Letter from Lewis Maltby to Thomas Borelli of Philip Morris, one page, December 14, 1998, Bates No. 2065010504
- ↑ Mullenholtz, Brimsek and Beliar Proposed Privacy Prqjects for 1996, Memo to Joshua J. Slavitt of Philip Morris, 6 pages, November 13, 1995, Bates No. 2045887023/7028
