April 17, 2002

>INGHAM COUNTY, MICHIGAN<strong>
>REGULATION ELIMINATING SMOKING<
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>IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE WORK SITES<
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ADMINISTRATIVE RULES><p>

1. EFFECTIVE DATES OF THE REGULATION

1. The regulation was approved by the Ingham County Board of Commissioners on February 12, 2002. According to Section 1016, "This regulation will be effective ninety (90) days from and after the date of its adoption . . . " The effective date of this regulation is May 13, 2002.
2. In Section 1007, part C., the regulation states, "Within 90 days of the effective date of this regulation, each employer having an enclosed place of employment located within Ingham County will adopt, implement, make known and maintain a written smoking policy." The effective date for full employer compliance is August 11, 2002.
3. In Section 1007, part D, the regulation states, "The smoking policy will be communicated to all current employees at least three (3) weeks prior to its effective date, and at the time of employment of all other employees." Employers delaying implementation of their policy until the last possible day, August 11, 2002, must then communicate their policy to current employees no later than July 22, 2002. Employers implementing their policies earlier than August 11, 2002 must communicate their policy to employees at least three weeks prior to the effective date of their policy.
4. The regulation, in Section 1016, allows employers to request a hardship extension through written notification to the Health Officer. This written notification must be provided within ninety (90) days of the effective date of the regulation. The last date to file written notification of a request for a hardship extension is August 11, 2002. The longest expiration date for any hardship extension is May 13, 2003.

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2. ENFORCEMENT PROCESS

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The regulation, in Section 1010, states that this regulation will be implemented by the Health Officer, or his

her designee. Enforcement of this regulation will be a complaint driven process. Generally, the Department will not initiate an investigation, or inspect a situation, in the absence of a formal written complaint. In the event an inspection or investigation is conducted, all parties will be notified prior to the Department taking action.
1. CITIZEN COMPLAINTS

1. Any citizen who desires to register a complaint shall initiate enforcement through the Health Department. The complaint shall be in writing and signed by the complainant. The written complaint shall include the following information:

a) The date of the alleged violation

b) The name, address, and telephone number of the place where the violation occurred.

c) A description of the violation and information regarding the violator, if applicable.

d) The complainant's name, address, and telephone number.

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2. All citizen complaints will be followed up within twenty (20) days. All parties to the complaint will be informed, in writing, upon resolution of the complaint.<strong>

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3. If the complaint is determined by the Department to be unsubstantiated, or unfounded, the complainant will be notified, in writing, of the reasons for dismissal of the complaint. Typical rationale for dismissal may include, but not be limited to, inadequate information or that the employer is on the list of specifically unregulated institutions. Anonymous complaints will not be pursued.<strong>

2. EMPLOYEE COMPLAINTS
1. Any employee may lodge a complaint against his/her employer for violating the regulation. However, according to the regulation, "the employee shall first exhaust internal procedures of the employer".
2. Employee complaints will be handled identically to those of citizens, only after it has been verified to the satisfaction of the Department, that all internal procedures have been exhausted. The Department's first action in dealing with a work site complaint will be to review the employer's work place smoking policy to ensure that it is essentially in compliance with the county regulation.
3. Smoking policy development advice and copies of sample model smoking policies will be made available to all employers who request it through Department. Additionally, the Department will have on hand, and provide upon request, a variety of community resources that may be of help to employers. These community resources will include information about other community health agencies willing to provide assistance on smoking policy development, and smoking cessation resources available to employers/employees.
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C. NOTICE OF REGULATION<strong>

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1. As set forth in Section 1010, the Department will make copies of the Regulation available to all applicants for a business license in Ingham County. Upon request, the Ingham County Health Department shall provide copies of the Regulation and other pertinent information. Interested parties may also obtain copies of the Regulation and other information through Ingham County Health Department Internet website.<strong>

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D. SELF CERTIFICATION<strong>

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1. To comply with "self-certification" pursuant to Section 1010, Part D, an employer should be knowledgeable of the Regulation and its applicability, have a written smoking policy as described in the Regulation, remove ashtrays and other smoking paraphernalia from areas where smoking is prohibited by the Regulation, and post acceptable "No Smoking" signs where they can be observed by all persons entering the building.<strong>

3. VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES
1. Pursuant to Section 1012, subsection B, an individual who violates the Regulation will first be given a warning. Failure to comply with the warning will result in the individual's removal from the premises. An employer may impose its own penalties in accordance with its workplace smoking policy or general personnel policies.
2. A schedule of monetary civil penalties utilizing a combination of warnings and increasing fines is spelled out in Section 1012, Part C., of the regulation. A warning citation is the first level of penalty that may be handed out to any employer in violation of the regulation. Warning citations will not be issued to employers until such time that all the employers' internal procedures have been exhausted and the employer remains out of compliance with the regulation. Subsequent violations within one year from the first violation will be dealt with in accordance with the schedule of fines outlined in the regulation.
3. The regulation states in Section 1012, part D., "Within twenty (20) days after receipt of a citation issued under this section, the alleged violator may appeal the citation as provided in Section 2462 of the Michigan Public Health Code, 1978 P.A. 368, as amended." The process is as follows:

>The alleged violator may petition the Department for an administrative hearing not later than 20 days after the receipt of the citation.<strong>

The administrative hearing shall be held within 30 days after the receipt of the petition.

After the administrative hearing, the Health Officer may affirm, dismiss, or modify the citation. The decision of the Health Officer shall be final, unless within 60 days of the decision, the alleged violator petitions the Ingham County Board of Commissioners, or a committee thereof, for a hearing.

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4. A person aggrieved by a decision of the Health Officer, the Board of Commissioners, or a committee thereof, may petition the Circuit Court of Ingham County. The petition must be filed not later than 60 days following receipt of the final decision.
5. A civil penalty becomes final if a petition for an administrative hearing is not received within the time specified.

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4. MISCELLANEOUS SECTIONS
1. SMOKING ROOMS FOR EMPLOYEES><li>

   1. Pursuant to Section 10007, subsections A and B, an employer may provide a smoke-free workplace or separate smoking and non-smoking rooms. If a complaint is received regarding a smoking room not meeting the requirements of this Regulation, the employer shall provide to the Department plans demonstrating that the smoking and non-smoking rooms are separately enclosed areas and that the smoking room is separately ventilated to ensure that smoke does not enter other non-smoking areas of the worksite. Prior to establishing a smoking room, an employer may request guidance from the Department in developing their plans.

2. HARDSHIP EXTENSIONS
1. Section 1016 allows for the request of hardship extensions by employers seeking more time to comply with the terms of the regulation. The timetable for the appropriate filing of a hardship extension was previously described in this document, under the section titled

" Effective Dates of the Regulation."

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2. Written requests for hardship extensions must be filed with the Health Officer. At a minimum these written requests must contain appropriate contact information, a thorough explanation of the reason(s) why the employer feels he or she cannot reasonably meet the timetable for full compliance with the regulation, and a plan/timetable that the employer feels they can meet.
3. All hardship extensions are granted subject to the discretion of the Health Officer. The decision of the Health Officer shall be final, unless within 60 days of the decision the alleged violator petition the Ingham County Board of Commissioners for a hearing.><li>
4. The Ingham County Board of Commissioners may amend, modify, or delete all or any portion of these Administrative Rules at any time.