Detroit to city workers: Leave smelly perfumes, deodorants, and candles at home!

03/15/2010 • By Dory Devlin, Shine, Yahoo.com

Getty Images Detroit officials are telling workers in city offices to leave smelly perfumes, deodorants, and other strongly scented toiletries and items at home.The signs are going up in response to a federal lawsuit, which also awarded $100,000 to Susan McBride, who sued the city under the Americans with Disabilities Act, claiming a coworker's perfume made it difficult for her to breathe and do her job. The city fought the 2008 suit, citing a lack of a medical diagnosis and arguing that McBride is not disabled. But the move this week to warn workers to refrain from using strong-smelling products is a clear sign the city is following through with some of the measures the judge ordered last month. The signs will warn workers to avoid "wearing scented products, including ... colognes, aftershave lotions, perfumes, deodorants, body/face lotions ... (and) the use of scented candles, perfume samples from magazines, spray or solid air fresheners."