Pennsylvania Clean Indoor Air Act to Take Effect September 11, 2008

Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell recently signed into law the Clean Indoor Air Act (Act) prohibiting smoking in most public areas, including workspaces, across the state. Pennsylvania now joins 32 other states in enacting antismoking laws designed to protect their residents from passive, secondhand smoke. As a result, employers that operate in Pennsylvania should begin to take important steps to ensure compliance by the law’s September 11, 2008 effective date.

By way of background, the Act prohibits smoking in a “public place,” broadly defined as any “enclosed area which serves as a workplace, commercial establishment, or an area where the public is invited or permitted.” This includes any “indoor area serving as a place of employment, occupation, business, trade, craft, professional, or volunteer activity.” Given this broad definition, we anticipate that the vast majority of Pennsylvania employers are covered by the new law.

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