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Detroit Settles Perfume Allergy Case for $100,000
Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Susan McBride, a civil servant in Detroit, won a $100,000 settlement from the city after officials failed to accommodate her allergy to perfume. McBride complained to superiors about a coworker’s perfume, claiming the smell made it difficult for her to breath. When managers did nothing to address the situation, McBride sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act and won.

In addition to paying the hundred grand, the city, as part of the settlement, will post signs asking employees to refrain from wearing “scented products, including but not limited to colognes, after-shave lotions, perfumes, deodorants, body/face lotions, hair sprays or similar products.”

In 2005, Detroit was the site for a private lawsuit between a DJ, Erin Weber, and a local radio station involving perfume. As in the McBride case, Weber complained about a coworker’s perfume, got no relief, then sued and won—a $10.6 million verdict. The award was later knocked down to $814,000.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

Scents Alive! Perfume Allergy Case Settles for $100,000 (by Matthew Heller, On Point News)

Susan McBride v. City of Detroit (U.S. District Court, Eastern Michigan) (pdf)

Comments

letmebreathe - 2/2/2011 9:55:21 AM
I can sympathize with you as I have been dealing with the same problem since November 2008. Friday I was told that I was being laid off and should go home for 30 days with pay and try to find another position within the company. Do you really think they will allow me to work in another department? It is time to take it up a knotch. It's so sad that we have to be mocked, humiliated and harrassed in order to breathe so that someone else can have the right to leave their stench behind. The elevator can be empty when you get in but the smell of someone's cologne is so strong it chokes me to tears. They don't get it that it causes us migraines and closes off our breathing and much more. If only they could walk an hour in my shoes.

Georgie - 1/13/2011 6:14:53 PM
I have been told by co-workers and superiors that it is their personal right to wear perfume and that overrides my right to breathe. I am glad this case was successful.

ChemicallySensitive - 7/14/2010 2:00:00 AM
I, too, am chemically sensitive. People think it's a joke and lie about it. I had a woman spray my cubicle. What people don't understand that it's not the smell, but the chemicals that can kill us. What I've come to hope when people are so rude and choose to assault me is that their kids get this, see how funny it is.

banperfumes - 3/23/2010 5:56:00 PM
I work in confined office with two other office workers. One sprays her toxic perfume on everyday in the office upon arriving. I had a anaphalatic reaction on March 10,right in front of her and she totally still denies that its her perfume. Now since I reported the issue to HR (I had to leave work twice in two weeks for E.R. medical care), she will purposely wear the perfume and now she has the other lady wearing hers in overdrive. I moved myself from their office and sit somewhere else. My workplace is not really doing anything about it. Lawsuits like this will make them stand up and listen, I hope. If nothing gets done and I have to continue to have hives, difficulty breathing and go to the ER one more time, I will be talking to the EEOC.

Fred Sampson - 3/17/2010 9:33:38 PM
About time! Those perumes with the cheap musky "raid" smell are the worst and most annoying. Why do some people pour that crap on? It's usually 1 person in the office who does that daily. Hopefully the perume companies get sued next and stop putting raid in their cheap product, and use better products instead of cutting costs in order to make others sick.

E.Brown - 3/17/2010 11:24:29 AM
I am so happy that she won. For years folks have thought I was going crazy when I told them that I cant take perfume. My prior job would not listen. I have had this problem for several years with perfume. I had complained and was told that the job could not control what someone wore. I had to quit in order to get relief. I get headaches and my chest tightens up because of certain scents and people should be mindful that they should wear perfume for themselves and not for others to smell especially cheap perfume with a high alcohol content.

Hate Body Smells - 3/15/2010 11:24:08 AM
What about bath soap and shampoo? I guess it would be alright to have a yearly bath, but what about body odor in the meantime? Is that alright or should you have to stay away from work in case you offend? As a city Detroit is not the greatest. Now they have to prove it really stinks! The jokes will keep on coming.

J. Watkins - 3/12/2010 6:25:42 AM
This is BULL........the city fell for something like this again. The woman never stop working along side the perfume bandit. This is one of the many reasons the city in going down the drain...