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The new "no nicotine" hiring policy at Dallas-based Baylor Health Care System may stand up in court, but it should make other employers uneasy, according to executive employment lawyer Joe Ahmad of Houston's Ahmad Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., or AZA. "Not only could employers be cutting themselves off from good future employees, but also hurting the morale of current workers who are grandfathered in but now may feel like second-class citizens," says Ahmad. "There could be legal issues down the road too, including whether this policy retaliates against smokers with higher health care costs. Also, someone could raise the potentially hard-to-win argument that nicotine addiction is a disability protected from discrimination." For more information, contact Mary Flood at 800-559-4534 or mary@androvett.com.