Where There’s Smoke, You’re Fired!
Employer Health Care Costs, Unhealthy Behaviors, and Employee Rights

	Howard Weyers, CEO of Weyco, Inc. in Okemos, Michigan, discusses some of his company's health-management policies.

On May 16, 2006, the Health Policy Institute of Ohio hosted a health policy hot topics luncheon called "Where There’s Smoke, You’re Fired! Employer Health Care Costs, Unhealthy Behaviors, and Employee Rights."

The forum offered different perspectives on employer workforce health management strategies (including requiring employees to not smoke either on or off the job and offering incentives and penalties for employees to exercise and stay healthy). The forum also examined the policy implications for Ohio of these types of health management strategies.

The speakers included:

• Howard Weyers, CEO
  Mr. Weyers has received national attention (including appearances on 60 Minutes) for his tobacco-free policies for employees and their spouses at Weyco, Inc. of Okemos, Michigan. He coached college football at, among other places, Miami of Ohio.
  
  
• Bruce Sherman, M.D., F.C.C.P.
  Dr. Sherman is an independent consultant who works nationally with health plans and corporations to identify and develop effective health and productivity management strategies. He is a member of the clinical faculty at Case Western Reserve University.
  
  
• Lewis Maltby, J.D.
  Mr. Maltby, President of the National Workrights Institute, is a nationally recognized expert on human rights in the workplace. Issues of concern to the Institute include drug testing, employer control of off-duty behavior, and genetic testing, among others.