WZZM13.com - Employees fired from Weyco strike back with media blitz
Four women are taking their stories to big networks - maybe even Oprah. The four Weyco workers who were fired for refusing to take a smoking test fired back Monday.

Launching a campaign to protect other workers from similar fates, Cara Stiffler, Anita Epolito, Marie Van Amberg and Tina Prater appeared at a news conference in front of the state Capitol on NBC, CBS and ABC.

Appearing with them was Sen. Virg Bernero, D-Lansing, who plans to introduce a bill in the state legislature in the next few weeks making it illegal to fire an employee for engaging in a legal activity outside of the workplace.

The four were fired by Okemos-based Weyco Inc. in January because they smoke - after work and at their homes.

But this isn´t about smoking, said Stiffler, 39.

"It´s about privacy," Stiffler said. "We want to get this out to everybody. We will take whatever avenue it takes so no one else has to go through what we´ve gone through."

"It was like, hey, this is America," she added. "They´re taking my rights away as an American."

Sweet! Glad that someone is addressing this before it steamrolls into standard practice. Let's hope the Repub controlled Michigan legislature finds the guts to side with workers for a change.