Remember the radio host who says she was sickened by a colleague's perfume and then fired unjustly when she complained? She was originally awarded 10.6 million dollars in a federal lawsuit. Then a judge knocked that back to $814,000. Now, that same judge has increased the award to $1.2 million (link to article no longer working, sorry!) in damages plus $423,807 for legal costs.
And in a related story from Connecticut (link no longer working, sorry!), a woman with "multiple chemical sensitivity disorder" is suing city officials who she says have failed to address her co-workers use of fragrance products:
Gorman, the town clerk's senior records analyst, says in a Jan. 30 amendment to her original lawsuit that fellow staffers are intentionally exposing her to scented products and city officials are trying to embarrass her by conducting "sniff tests" of co-workers when she complains of an odor.
She says city officials are violating her rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Scented MP3 players! What next?
Cargo magazine for men says that "...many of the year's most enticing scents are revisiting strong, masculine blends that were popular in decades past." Watch their "Time In A Bottle" slideshow (link no longer working, sorry!).
Can I sue over body odor? That offends my nose as well, and I think people should always be bathed and deodorized properly.
LOL — I'm with you!
There is a very strange movie starring Julianne Moore called “Safe” about a woman who claims that her environment is making her increasingly ill.
It is weird in a memorable way, and shows how extreme this kind of thinking can become.
It's a good thing our ancestors were not so sensitive, we never would have made it this far. Do you think we need to toughen up?
That film was shown recently on TV here in the UK. Weird indeed.
We have become too sensitive and babies are not exposed to bacteria, etc. as much as they used to. So they get allergies and illnesses that even their parents didn't get.
I have mixed feelings, and probably not enough personal knowledge on this subject. Mostly I am just astounded at the amount of money involved. I am going to have to look for that film!
The amounts of money actually awarded are almost never the sums printed in the presses because 10 million dollars US is sensational – having it reduced to 5, then 2.5, etc. until 20 grand (including legal fees) doesn't quite ring the sensationalism bell.
I think it's a combination of too much anti-bacterial everything (soap and water usually does just fine) along with too much scented everything (I was just visiting a woman with air fresheners all over the place – it reminded me of Divine in Polyester – and it made me gag)
I would LOVE a body odour metre for nyc cab drivers!
Quite so, and the amounts awarded are not always ever paid. LOL on the body odour metre!!