Muller, who had been employed at the Midstate Correctional Facility in Marcy, NY, had repeatedly asked to be assigned to locations where the prison's no-smoking policy was enforced. Very quickly, Muller said in an interview, he would be in the hospital suffering from respiratory distress.
Prisons are unique closed environments, where smoking issues create special difficulties.
Prisoners are not employees, and so may not file under ADA, but many have filed suits charging that exposure to secondhand smoke constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the 8th Amendment. Muller's case seems to be the first to be won under ADA provisions, according to Bonnie DuChene of Norman Deep's office. An issue that helped Muller was the DOC's non-enforcement of New York State's Clean Indoor Air Act, which does prohibit smoking in inmate housing. Word of the Muller decision quickly ran through the prison population. Muller still has a claim against the County.