Workplace Smoking Rules in Montana

Employers covered. Employers with one or more employees.

Written policy requirements. Employer policy not specified.

No smoking areas. Montana's Clean Indoor Air Act prohibits smoking in general office spaces, as well as in auditoriums and conference rooms, elevators, corridors, lobbies, restrooms and stairways, medical care facilities, libraries and hazardous areas.

Effective October 1, 2005, smoking is prohibited in all public schools and in all places where the public is free to enter, including public buildings and workplaces, with limited exceptions to the rule.

Designated smoking areas. Smoking is only allowed in designated areas in public places defined as any indoor area, room or vehicle used by the general public or serving as a place of work, including but not limited to restaurants, stores, offices, trains, buses, educational or health care facilities, auditorium, arenas, and assembly and meeting rooms open to the public. The proprietor or manager of an enclosed public place must either designate nonsmoking areas with easy to read signs or designate the entire area as a smoking or nonsmoking area, again using easy to read signs.

Certain buildings both owned and occupied by the state may be smoke free. In addition, designated smoking areas are to be established in state buildings that are suited by architectural design and functional purpose to have a designated smoking area. In identifying smoking areas, consideration must be given to the number of smokers and nonsmokers in the building, the ventilation system, the availability of space and protection of nonsmokers from involuntary exposure to smoke. Signs must be posted stating that the building is smoke free and identifying the smoking area or areas. In buildings of historical significance, the signs must be aesthetically pleasing and appropriate to the architectural style of the building.

Permitted smoking areas. Exempt from the smoking restriction laws are restrooms, bars and taverns where food is not served, vehicles or rooms seating less than six members of the public, educational facilities designated as smoke-free and state buildings designated as smoke-free.

Posting requirements. In Montana, the proprietor or manager of an enclosed public place must either designate nonsmoking areas with easy to read signs or designate the entire area as a smoking or nonsmoking area, again using easy to read signs.