A black female employee sued her employer for disparate treatment when she was terminated for violating the company’s smoking policy.  The District Court found that the employer fired the plaintiff due to its good-faith belief that she had violated its rule against smoking in any area except break areas and offices, that several non- minority employees had been fired after a first offense of the smoking policy and that the plaintiff’s termination was not in retaliation for employee’s alleged racial treatment in work assignments.

615 F. Supp. 528 (W.D.N.C. 1985).