City of North Miami v. Kurtz

The City of North Miami (North Miami) (defendant) implemented a policy with the goal of reducing the number of employees who smoked tobacco. According to North Miami’s estimates, smoking employees cost the city (which was self-insured via 100 percent taxpayer funding) approximately $4,600 more per year than nonsmoking employees. North Miami sought to reduce these costs and increase productivity by lowering and eventually eliminating the numbers of employees who smoked. So, the city implemented Administrative Regulation 1-46. The regulation required job applicants (but not current employees) to sign affidavits stating that they had not used tobacco for at least one year preceding their employment applications. The goal was to reduce the number of smoking employees through the number of applicants. Indeed, applicants who were hired were free to resume smoking, although evidence indicated that few did. Evidence later indicated that the policy was successful. Arlene Kurtz (plaintiff) applied for a job with North Miami but told the interviewer she could not truthfully comply with the policy because she smoked tobacco. The interviewer told Kurtz she was not eligible for employment and would need to wait one year without smoking before reapplying. Kurtz sued North Miami, claiming that the regulation violated her right to privacy under the Florida Constitution. The district court agreed, and North Miami appealed.