Who must post the California No Smoking Sign?
- Under California Labor Code § 6404.5, smoking tobacco products is prohibited in all (100 percent of) enclosed places of employment. The law holds employers responsible for posting “No Smoking” signs.
- Employers must place clear and prominent “No Smoking” signs at each entrance to their building or structure. By doing so, they demonstrate that they are not knowingly or intentionally allowing smoking in enclosed workplaces. Employers are also expected to ask nonemployees to stop smoking in these areas.
What do the smoking ban prohibit?
- Smoking is prohibited in enclosed places of employment, including covered parking lots, lobbies, lounges, waiting areas, elevators, stairwells, and restrooms.
- “Smoking” means inhaling, exhaling, burning, or carrying any lighted or heated cigar, cigarette, or pipe, or any other lighted or heated tobacco or plant product intended for inhalation, whether natural or synthetic, in any manner or in any form.
- “Tobacco product” means any of the following:
- A product containing, made, or derived from tobacco or nicotine that is intended for human consumption, whether smoked, heated, chewed, absorbed, dissolved, inhaled, snorted, sniffed, or ingested by any other means, including cigarettes, cigars, little cigars, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, or snuff.
- An electronic device that delivers nicotine or other vaporized liquids to the person inhaling from the device, including, but not limited to, an electronic cigarette, cigar, pipe, or hookah.
- Any component, part, or accessory of a tobacco product.
How is the law enforced?
Employers that knowingly or intentionally permit smoking are subject to fines up to one hundred dollars ($100) for a first violation, two hundred dollars ($200) for a second violation within one year, and five hundred dollars ($500) for a third and for each subsequent violation within one year. The law is enforced by local law enforcement agencies and health departments.
