SMOKING; LIQUOR; BUSINESS (GENERAL);

SMOKING;

Connecticut laws/regulations;

You asked for an explanation of the effect of PA 03-45, AAC Secondhand Smoke in Workplaces, on bars, specifically those with separate pool rooms.

SUMMARY

PA 03-45 (as amended by PA 03-235) bans smoking in most workplaces where five or more people work, except in specially ventilated smoking rooms; inside restaurants; and “in any area” of other establishments that have specific types of liquor permits. It allows smoking in outdoor areas of restaurants that do not serve alcohol and in outdoor areas of alcohol-serving establishments under certain conditions. The act appears to bar smoking in a pool room in an establishment with a bar permit.

The ban takes effect on October 1, 2003 for workplaces, restaurants and most liquor permittees. It takes effect on April 1, 2004 for places with tavern, cafe, and bowling alley permits. It affects only those private clubs whose liquor permits are issued after May 1, 2003.

SMOKING IN RESTAURANTS AND PLACES THAT SERVE ALCOHOL

The act prohibits smoking inside any restaurant and “in any area of an establishment” that serves alcohol, except tobacco bars, under any of the following permits: restaurant; bar; café; club; tavern; bowling establishment; university; hotel; resort; juice; railroad; airline; coliseum or coliseum concession, special sporting facility; nonprofit theater or public museum; racquetball facility; or airport, airport restaurant, bar, concession, or airline club.

The act defines “restaurant” as space in a permanent building that is used and held out to the public as a place where meals are served regularly to the public.

The ban begins October 1, 2003, except in places with cafe, tavern, and bowling alley permits (the latter exception was made in PA 03-235) where it begins April 1, 2004.

The act unconditionally allows smoking outdoors at restaurants that do not serve alcohol. It allows smoking under the following conditions at any of the places with liquor permits:

1. the smoking area may not have a roof or other ceiling enclosure and

2. at least 75% of the seats in any area where food is served must be in a nonsmoking location clearly marked by a sign. This second condition does not apply to temporary seating areas established for special events.

The act extends to places that sell alcohol the existing requirement that restaurants and others post signs in all buildings and rooms where smoking is prohibited, but it exempts them from the lettering size requirements for these signs. Restaurants are already exempt. Smoking where prohibited and failure to post a sign are infractions.

WORKPLACES

Where Smoking is Prohibited

The act prohibits smoking in any business facility (a structurally enclosed location) in which five or more employees work, except in a designated smoking room. The act exempts from this prohibition (1) correctional facilities, (2) public housing projects, (3) private clubs whose liquor permit was issued on or before May 1, 2003, (4) areas where businesses that develop and test tobacco products do such work, (5) cafes, taverns, and bowling alleys until April 1, 2004, and (5) qualified tobacco bars. To qualify for the tobacco bar exemption, a business (1) must have a liquor permit and have generated at least 10% of its 2002 gross income from on-site sales of tobacco products or humidor rentals and (2) cannot have changed its size or location after December 31, 2002.

By law, any employer can designate an entire facility as a nonsmoking area.

Where Smoking is Permitted

The act allows employers with five or more employees to designate one or more smoking rooms in a facility. An employer that does this must provide sufficient nonsmoking break rooms for nonsmoking employees. The air in each smoking room must be exhausted directly to the outside by a fan; no air from the room can be recirculated to other parts of the facility. The employer must comply with any ventilation standard adopted by (1) the state labor commissioner, (2) the U. S. secretary of labor under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), or (3) the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Under the act, an employer with a business facilities where fewer than five people work must establish a nonsmoking area if its employees ask it to do so. Under prior law, this ceiling applied to facilities with 20 or fewer employees. The act repeals the state labor commissioner’s authority to exempt an employer from this requirement if he found that (1) the employer made a good faith effort to comply and (2) further compliance efforts would pose an unreasonable financial burden.

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