Team VADA eViews
The Digital Newsletter of Your Virginia Automobile Dealers Association
July 2008
Most people like an attractive fragrance. Car dealers know this better than anyone since many customers look for that “new car smell”. Believe it or not, some folks don’t agree that pleasant fragrances have a place at work. If one of those folks is your employee, it could mean trouble.
One of the newest trends in disability claims is to claim fragrance disability. That’s right; some employees are claiming that cologne or perfume worn by other employees or artificial fragrances used in the workplace leads to such serious symptoms that it disables them.
Some of those disturbed by fragrances generally complain of sneezing or coughing, similar to a cold. However, other employees have claimed symptoms so serious that their physical condition qualifies as a disability under the Americans With Disabilities Act. Those claims are especially possible in car dealerships that often use fragrances to enhance the attractiveness of vehicles in inventory.
A dealership faced with a fragrance complaint must seek to make an accommodation for the complaining employee. The easiest accommodations are to request that other employees refrain from using fragrances in the workplace or that the business cease using fragrances in the area of the employee’s job. Requiring the dealership to stop using fragrances to enhance the attractiveness of the vehicle inventory is probably not a reasonable accommodation.
The most important lesson is simple – if you receive an employee complaint about fragrances, don’t ignore it. Such seemingly silly claims have been built into serious disability claims. Like any other claim of a potential disability, a fragrance disability claim should be taken seriously.