If someone made the effot to bring it to someone's attention, then it should be banned. Even if it is simply a distraction, rather than rising to what might be considered a medical issue. Given the number of people here who have indicated issues with scents, and the fact that many who use them don't realize how much they use, I think making such a request - and enforcing it- is reasonable. Kids have to do without peanuts in school, and sometimes tree nuts as well. I'm not entitled to know how much of a medical emergency it might cause, if someone says it is dangerous, I have to take their word for it.
In an employment situation, those scents can at a minimum be a distraction. In some cases, they can be a serious distraction as they cause severe headaches or nausea. If 3 out of 200 people were asked not to participate, then clearly 3 people either didn't read the memo. or chose to ignore it. If they had a competing need to use a scented product, it would be up to them to bring it up before the event, to see what sort of accomodation could be made.
Maybe it was an overreaction, but maybe not. Those of us with "sensitivities" understand that there will be times we cannot participate, but they should be balanced by times when others are asked to like with the inconvenience of accommodating our needs from time to time.
peanut and tree nut "sensitivities" caused real strain in my home last year. My oldest DD, (8th grade at the time) who didn't particularly care for the food ended up buying lunch nearly every day because her team wasn't allowed to have any peanut products. Middle DD had difficulty finding snacks to take (they had a very early lunch), because nearly every commercial product she liked (granola bars particularly) might contain traces of nut products. They were encouraged not to bring homemade snacks, and got very tired of fruit since they was not place to keep it cold.
Then we had youngest DD who had a classmate whose parents listed peanuts as an allergy because they gave their DD the runs. The school nurse wanted to lift the classroom restriction, but school policy required it because it was listed on the medical form as an "allergy." I thought about asking the nurse to restrict chocolate from the classroom because of my DD's allergy (diagnosed as such), so the parents would understand the fuss, but opted not to. She is not effected if others eat it, and her classmates have been very good about making sure she has an appropriate treat of her own if they bring something chocolate to celebrate their birthdays (and several told their parent NOT to get chocolate cake for their birthday parties because they want to be sure she can have a piece).
Yes, those 200 should be considered when making decisions about accomodation, but asking people not to wear perfume or cologne shouldn't be that big of a deal.
) I am amazed she still does not realize how bad her house used to smell (or her clothes, her car, HER). Her kids spent a long time and alot of work cleaning out her house, and she cannot tell the difference. The smell still lingers a bit, but after 40 years of smoking, they did a pretty good job getting rid of it.