France

Aicha Venturini began working for Jet International (Jet) in 2000. In February 2001, Ms. Venturini complained to Jet that her employer's spouse was smoking in the workplace. Jet offered to move Ms. Venturini's office further away from the location where the spouse was smoking, but Ms. Venturini declined a new office. In March 2001, Jet terminated Ms. Venturini, allegedly for professional incompetence. Ms. Venturini brought suit and sought to have the Non-Smoker's Rights Association intervene on her behalf in order to support a claim for punitive damages. Jet argued that the employers were rarely in the office, and therefore the exposure to smoke to Ms. Venturini was minimal.  Jet also argued that Ms. Venturini could have taken the offer to move to an office further away from the area with smoke, but declined. The court agreed with Jet in part, holding that Ms. Venturini could have taken the other office and upheld Jet's claim that Ms. Venturini's termination was justified. The court did not allow punitive damages, nor the intervention of the Non-Smoker's Rights Association. The court however awarded one month's pay as well as attorney fees to Ms. Venturini.