Drivers are up in deodorized arms over the criterion, which is one of dozens used by San Diego Regional Airport Authority officials to grade taxi drivers.
Anyone who fails the smell test can be ordered to change before picking up another customer.
The United Taxi Workers of San Diego says such tests reek of prejudice, fueling a stereotype that foreign-born taxi drivers smell bad.
Sarah Saez, an organizer with the union, told KPBS: "It's demeaning and it is borderline racist, I believe."
Inspectors have been sniffing drivers for years, but controversy arose recently when a union employee spotted . . .
Already a Subscriber? Login Here