HB2773 is a bill relating to prohibited access and usage of tobacco products by minors. It increases the monetary penalties for selling tobacco products to minors; and providing that the sale or furnishing of tobacco products to minors may constitute grounds for dismissal as an act of misconduct; clarifying the impact of such a dismissal on the discharged employees’ eligibility to receive unemployment benefits; and increasing the monetary penalties for minors possessing tobacco products.
The bill, if passed by the Senate and signed by the Governor, will amend Sections §16-9A-2 and §16-9A-3 of the Code of West Virginia:
Increasing penalties for any individual who violates any of the provisions of this code are summarized as:
(1) guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined $100 (was $25) for the first offense.
(2) misdemeanor and at least $250 fine (was $100) but not more than $500 (was $200) for a second offense,
(3) misdemeanor and at least $500 fine (was $200) but not more than $750 (was $500) for the third offense,
(4) misdemeanor and at least $1,000 but not more than $5,000 for any subsequent offenses,
(5) Any individual who knowingly and intentionally sells, gives or furnishes or causes to be sold, given or furnished to any person under the age of eighteen years any cigar, cigarette, snuff, chewing tobacco or tobacco product, in any form, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, for the first offense shall be fined not more than $100; upon conviction thereof for a second or subsequent offense, is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $500.
(6) Any employer who discovers that his or her employee has sold or furnished tobacco products to minors may dismiss such employee for cause. Any such discharge shall be considered as “gross misconduct” for the purposes of determining the discharged employee’s eligibility for unemployment benefits in accordance with the provisions of section three, article six, chapter twenty-one-a of this code, if the employer has provided the employee with prior written notice in the workplace that such act or acts may result in their termination from employment.
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