I don’t know about you but I have had to sit next to someone who literally douses themselves in perfume that practically chokes me, and I won’t even mention having to ride elevators with these folks...its ridiculous.

And to be fair there are folks who use one of those body washes that starts with a vowel made by Calvin Klein that is just as bad...



Judge says perfume lawsuit can proceed
A Detroit city planner says co-worker's scent interferes with job performance, breathing.
Paul Egan / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- A city of Detroit planner can proceed with her lawsuit alleging a co-worker's perfume made it difficult for her to breathe and impossible to do her job, a federal judge has ruled.

In an opinion released late Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff rejected the city's attempt to have Susan McBride's lawsuit, filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act, dismissed.

McBride "has produced evidence that her breathing is significantly restricted" by a co-worker's perfume, and she has a potential claim, Zatkoff ruled.

Both McBride's Detroit attorney and the chairwoman of the Chemical Sensitivity Foundation said Wednesday that Zatkoff's decision to allow the lawsuit to proceed is significant.
"He recognizes that this is the type of claim that's viable," said attorney Ann Curry Thompson, who represents McBride. "These are types of claims that in many jurisdictions ... are sort of pooh-poohed and are not taken seriously."
Grant Ha, the attorney representing the city in the lawsuit, did not return a phone call Wednesday. Ha said in a June court filing that "there is no medical diagnosis of the alleged condition," and McBride "is not disabled because she is not substantially impaired in a major life activity."

But Zatkoff, who sits in Port Huron, found that McBride's difficulty breathing as a result of her co-worker's perfume does present a potential claim under the federal law designed to protect the disabled from discrimination in public places and the workplace. He dismissed McBride's claims that her chemical sensitivity also impairs her ability to shop for detergents, speak, interact with others, and reproduce.


It's not clear that the city took reasonable steps to accommodate McBride's condition, the judge ruled.

Alison Johnson, chairwoman of the Chemical Sensitivity Foundation in Topsham, Maine, said she welcomes Zatkoff's decision to let the lawsuit proceed.

"These perfume sensitivities are very real, and I can't tell you how many lives they are ruining," Johnson said. "Maybe there's beginning to be recognition that these things are serious."

McBride is seeking unspecified damages. Thompson said the major goal of the lawsuit is not monetary damages but "to educate people about the issue and seek voluntary compliance, where possible."
The city is continuing to fight the lawsuit, which could be headed to trial next year.
Judge says perfume lawsuit can proceed | The Detroit News | detnews.com

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"The captain has turned off the `No Dubbing' sign. You are free to speak any language you choose."

And my favorite Tom Robbins book is Jitterbug Perfume!

But this IS a real problem. I work where some people douse themselves with perfume that isn't even cheap and it makes me sneeze when they come around.

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me too, I had to ask my manager to come to my cube one day and ask a temp we had to go easy on the perfume.....

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"The captain has turned off the `No Dubbing' sign. You are free to speak any language you choose."

When I was a nurse, I never wore perfume to work and I made sure I didn't use heavily perfumed soaps. As a bartender, I wore it every day but I figured if you walk into a smoke-filled bar, it's doubtful anyone would complain about my scent. (I actually got plenty of compliments and guys often told me that if they smelled Giorgio on someone else outside the bar, they always thought of me! Ha! It worked!!!)

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

I hope the lawsuit gets thrown out.

This sentence stuck out to me:

Seriously?

The woman can't reproduce because of this?

Sounds like she was swinging for the fences, and she barely got it out of the infield.

I hate lawsuits like this. Sue to get the offender to stop wearing the stuff; that's fine. But to claim that you're due monetary damages, and then make idiotic claims like you can't reproduce, is greedy.

Also, I love shit like this:
"Unspecified damages"?

"Major goal"?

I can't see any reason to award monetary damages for this, unless it can be proven that the woman can't reproduce, shop for detergent, or interact with others. Those claims are absurd.

If she's suing so that the offender can't wear the perfume anymore, I'm on the side of the plaintiff. If she's seeking monetary damages, then I can't support her...

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For those who have fought to defend it, freedom has a taste the protected will never know...



If it wasn't for double standards, liberals would have no standards at all...

I've worked with men who were equally as rank. I hope this doesn't just go to the aroma of the women in her place of work.

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If she's seeking monetary damages, it probably only addresses the woman wearing too much perfume.

It doesn't sound as though she's suing the city to get them to address personal hygiene issues among city employees, which would be appropriate. She's going after money (anytime they say "unspecified damages, they're usually talking about money), which means she would have to be specific; "this woman stinks" or "this woman wears too much perfume"...

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For those who have fought to defend it, freedom has a taste the protected will never know...



If it wasn't for double standards, liberals would have no standards at all...

I worked with a bartender and though he smelled delicious, every time I gave him a hug, his cologne would end up on my clothes!

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

Waaaaaf. Some just don't know the difference betwen a sensation and an overwhelming suffocation.

And, for anyone who is intersted, I like Joy, Channel No. 5, and Shalimar. For the men, the only acceptable cologne to me is Lagerfeld.

I love Lagerfeld, and I also have cologne I use manufactured from a formula Napoleon liked to wear, yea baby, the conquers musk, women love it....

And your first remark is right on.

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"The captain has turned off the `No Dubbing' sign. You are free to speak any language you choose."

A man with excellent taste.

Tell us more about the conquering hero stuff you make.

What kind of person keeps on wearing too much perfume after being told other people find her offensive? I would have quit the job in embarassment, not kept on until I got sued.

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Alizee Jacotay, the reason god invented hips

oh hell no I don't make it, but the Napoleonic Historical Society of which I am a member has access to a small manufacturer that does.

Its subtle and smells a bit like lagerfeld.

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"The captain has turned off the `No Dubbing' sign. You are free to speak any language you choose."

yes I agree, her goal has been realized, the suit is just a money grab it appears.

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"The captain has turned off the `No Dubbing' sign. You are free to speak any language you choose."

Could it BE lagerfeld? Perfume formulas are secrets, so what's to stop someone from copying a famous scent and calling it their own.

OTOH, aren't perfumes regulated by the French govt, (EVERYTHING sophisticated is regulated by the French Govt)

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Alizee Jacotay, the reason god invented hips