I'm sure you're a good guy, don't take these comments as personal. I'm NOT hard headed, I think people who fail to see that this is a private property issue are the dense ones. I own the bar, I own the restaurant. My mortgage is the one at stake regarding the stakes of my investment. I should be the one to decide whether I allow a legal activity on my property (smoking).

If its "not private property by law", then fight it in court, don't just grab your ankles.

What if my employees say that I don't keep the thermostat at a proper level, then I'm creating an unsafe work environment? My employees say its too hot in the dining room? But my customers like it. Do I jack up the A/C to make my employees happy? Where does this nonsense end?

part of the laws states institute on businesses are safety regulations and employee rights.

I never said to cater your employees whim, just saying changing working conditions on them will be litigious.

I can't believe that basic premise would be so misunderstood and debatable.

This clearly isn't sinking in for some of you, so I'll end my involvement with this topic here.

A law that compels business owners to forbid a legal activity on their property is no more offensive than the government telling you what legal activity you can and can't do in your own home. Its no different. To say that because businesses are goverened by state laws they are not private property is as absurd as saying you don't own your house because the state will not let you sell child pornography in your living room.

I'm disgusted with Chicagoland bars and restaraunts grabbing their ankles over these smoking bans. It IS a violation of private property rights and it should be challenged as far up the appellate chain as necessary.

If I did make a switch on my employees and they wanted to sue, bring it on. Its a battle we can win for smokers everywhere, as well as people who are disgusted with the Nanny State and private property violations. Unless employees have a codified agreement with the employer that states the restaurant will be smoke-free, they have no legal recourse that I'm aware of. Again, I'm not going to make my business decisions based on whether it pleases my employees or not. I'm going to do what is best for my bottom line.

being an employer means you have to follow employment laws. employees who enter into employment into a non smoke workplace and then all of a sudden it becomes a smoking environment will SUE UR ASS.

You guys can cling to you "it's a private property" stuff all u want, 1st off it's not private property(public business=adhere to all state laws) and employment laws will bend you over backwards every time.

I'm talking about situations where you switch up the working environment on employees.

I'm a conservative, in a perfect world those employees who can't stand the smoke should go find another job, but with employment laws as they are, it makes the life of business owners very difficult.

I actually plan on opening a cigar shop one day and only hire workers who agree to work in a smoke filled environment.

If I OWN the restaraunt, I should be allowed to make the decision as to what legal activities are to be condoned on my private property. So running a business and private property rights go hand in hand, they are not unrelated in this regard. That's what makes so many of us crazy over this. Its a gross violation of the private property rights of the business owners. And its a violation that can cost the business owner money, because the government is making the decision for them, based on do-gooder ideology, not on what makes the most business sense.

Businesses do not exist for the employees – they exist to turn a profit for those who own them. No one has a right to dictate to their boss what the terms or their employment are after they are already working there. Now, if there is some type of contract that the boss has agreed to, then ethically yes, the employer is obligated to live up to that agreement. But to say that I should make my business decisions based whether or not my employees will be happy with it…..

I'm all for owners setting up their own rules. Changing working conditions on the employees would violate employee rights. That's the sticky point for me.

If you want to start a restaurant, hire people who are willing to work under the conditions you've set forth, go fot it and I'll definitely frequent and enjoy smokes there.

basically, i don't think you can violate the working conditions agreed upon originally with the employees.