Police and fire departments across Massachusetts stopped hiring smokers in 1997 as part of a pension system overhaul. In 2011, the Massachusetts Hospital Association implemented the same policy for its workforce.

“We’re basically saying this is not an environment that we want in the future, so we’re not going to add individuals who use tobacco to our workforce,” said Lynn Nicholas, who was the president and CEO of the association at the time.

Many viewed the move by Nicholas skeptically. One business leader said he found the hospital association’s new policy a little scary. “A lot of employers would question whether this is a slippery slope. Will the next set of screens be about whether they drive or what their diet is? Other lifestyle choices? And where does that end?” the business leader asked.

A legal analysis by the law firm Prince Lobel in 2011 noted that the American Civil Liberties Union viewed bans on hiring smokers as “lifestyle discrimination” and an “attack on the privacy rights of employees.”

The legal analysis found that Massachusetts did not have a law barring employers from taking such action. The law firm estimated 30 states did have some sort of statutory protection for the off-duty conduct of employees, ranging from specific protections for smoking to more general laws barring employers from limiting employee use of lawful products during non-work time.

All of this background is prelude to the announcement by U-Haul International that starting February 1 the company will no longer hire “nicotine users” in the 21 states where it is legal to take such action. The company, seeking to build a healthier workforce, said in states where testing is allowed applicants would have to consent to nicotine screening in order to be considered.

Shannon Palus, writing at Slate, called U-Haul’s decision draconian. “The policy puts an awful lot of blame and responsibility on individuals not just for actively smoking (even on the weekends!) but also for having smoked at some point in the past and for now using nicotine-delivery methods as part of a plan to quit the stuff altogether,” she said.

In addition to its headquarters state of Arizona, U-Haul said it will be implementing the policy in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

BRUCE MOHL

BEACON HILL

Gov. Charlie Baker files a bill that would help Kraft Group advance a Gillette Stadium event by amending state licensing laws. (WGBH)

A special commission set up to evaluate the state’s cash bail system is not going to recommend eliminating it, in part because of fear of unintended side effects. (MassLive)

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center keeps spending more than it takes in from a special fee attached to utility bills, and the reserve funds it has been relying on will likely run out in three years. (Boston Globe) For a video explainer about all those fees buried inside your electric bill, check this video out. (CommonWealth)

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty charts a course for the coming year. (Telegram & Gazette)

Limpy’s run as the fan favorite turkey of Reading ended tragically on New Year’s Day. (CommonWealth)

Brian Castellanos, a member of the Lynn School Committee, buys his first home. (Daily Item)

WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

The man known as Iran’s second in command, Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, was killed in a drone strike in Baghdad in a move authorized by President Trump. Now, Iran vows to retaliate.  (New York Times) Meanwhile the Massachusetts Democratic congressional delegation is condemning the decision as reckless. (Boston Herald)

The Trump administration issues a partial ban on flavored e-cigarettes that exempts mint and menthol flavors. (New York Times)

ELECTIONS

Businessman Jesse Brown has entered the race for the Plymouth and Barnstable District state Senate seat as a Republican. (Cape Cod Times) 

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

As women have grown larger, the models used by Victoria’s Secret have shrunk, except around the hips. The waist-to-hip ratio, an indicator of curviness, has remained steady, according to a Boston University study. (Boston Globe)

EDUCATION

The plan to build a $117 million middle school for Dennis and Yarmouth students is finally moving forward after being tied up in litigation for the past year. (Cape Cod Times) 

Amid union-management tensions at a school in Andover, the school system launches an investigation of a complaint about a hostile work environment. (Eagle-Tribune)

A pilot program meant to test how composting would work in the city could be coming to Quincy schools later this year. (Patriot Ledger) 

HEALTH/HEALTH CARE

Gloucester is hiring Roberto Rodrigues as a community health navigator to help people struggling with addiction. (Gloucester Times)

ARTS/CULTURE

The Dorchester arts scene was hot in 2019. (Dorchester Reporter)

TRANSPORTATION 

Rachel Heller of the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association and Jarred Johnson of TransitMatters make the case for creating 253,000 new housing units near transit stations. (CommonWealth)

Lowell Sun columnist Peter Lucas has a solution for Boston’s congestion problem — move state government to Pittsfield.

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

Massachusetts is restarting its rebate program for electric vehicles. (MassLive)

With new right whale protections under consideration, lobstermen say their livelihood is threatened. (Boston Globe)

CASINOS

Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods both saw their revenue decline in fiscal 2019 — Mohegan Sun by 7 percent and Foxwoods by 5 percent. (MassLive)

Ed Bedrosian, the executive director of the Massachusetts Gaming Association, is stepping down, returning to the law firm he worked at previously. (Boston Globe)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS

A judge fined Santo Anza $20,000 for using his property in Northborough as an illegal solid waste dump. (MetroWest Daily News)

Somerset police allege Tracy Milanovich, the owner of a psychic business, stole over $70,000 from a client after telling the woman her daughter was possessed by a demon and that she needed to purchase the child’s “soul back.” (Herald News) 

OBITUARIES

Somerset mourns the sudden death of Fire Chief Scott Jepson, a 27-year-veteran of the department. (Standard-Times)