The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: To examine whether the likelihood of employee separation from a job at a full-service restaurant/bar is influenced by the introduction or presence of a local smoke-free law. We also examined the sociodemographic predictors of employee separation.

Methods: A time series design with treatment and control groups were used and a model of employee separation over a 5-year period for employees of a national restaurant franchiser was tested. Treatment Group I included 500 employees working at 9 restaurants that allowed smoking when they opened, but became smoke free as a result of a local ordinance. Treatment Group II included 2,000 employees working at 14 restaurants only after enactment of a smoke-free ordinance. The Control Group included 30,000 employees of 63 restaurants that allowed smoking during the entire study period.

Results: On average, workers remained on the job 20.8 months. The two-week turnover rate was 4.5%. There was no impact on the probability of job separation for workers who were already employed at a restaurant in a community that adopted a smoke-free law. The probability of job separation was lower for workers who joined the staff of a restaurant after its community adopted a smoke-free law. Relative to white workers, the probability of job separation was lower for Hispanic workers, but greater for African American and Native American workers. These findings suggest that restaurants located in communities that adopt smoke-free laws should not expect an increase in employee turnover.