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Connecticut Legalizes Recreational Marijuana, Will Allow Employers to Continue Prohibiting Recreational Marijuana Use

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont recently signed Senate Bill 1201, making Connecticut the 19th state to legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 years or older.  The new law not only requires expungement of certain...more

Recreational Marijuana Use Away from Work Now Protected in New York

On March 31, 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the New York Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act (the Act) legalizing the recreational use of marijuana products by adults. Effective immediately, the Act prohibits employers...more

Off-Duty Recreational Cannabis Use to be Protected in New Jersey

After contentious negotiations, Governor Phil Murphy has signed the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (the Act) implementing the constitutional amendment embracing...more

DOT Guidance on Drug/Alcohol Testing During Pandemic is Not What Regulated Transportation Employers Had Hoped For

On March 23, 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued Guidance on compliance with DOT drug/alcohol testing regulations for employers concerned about their ability to meet regulatory testing requirements during the...more

FMCSA Expands Emergency COVID-19 Relief Efforts Declaration

On March 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier and Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued an Expanded Emergency Declaration broadening federal exemptions from compliance with certain driver...more

DOT-FMCSA Issues Federal Emergency Declaration Establishing Limited Reprieve from Driver Safety Regulations for COVID-10 Relief...

On March 13, 2020, the Federal Motor Carrier and Safety Administration (FMCSA) of the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) announced and issued a national emergency declaration (Emergency Declaration) establishing...more

Illinois Legislature Amends Marijuana Law, Bringing Clarity, Relief to Employers with Workplace Drug-Testing Programs

As we reported over the summer, on June 25, 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (the “Act”) into law. This Act legalizes the use, possession, and even cultivation of marijuana by...more

Illinois Poised to Protect Marijuana Users from Adverse Employment Actions as Part of Marijuana Legalization Legislation

On June 4, 2019, the Illinois legislature passed the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (the “Act”) (HB 1438).  The Act, notwithstanding federal law, declares marijuana a “lawful product” for state law purposes, and would make...more

In Oklahoma, Medical use of Marijuana is OK, But Employers Now Have Enhanced Rights to Act

On March 12, 2019, Oklahoma Governor Stitt signed into law the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Use and Protection Act. The Act, better known as the medical marijuana “Unity Bill,” amends the state’s medical marijuana law to create...more

Michigan Employers Can Refuse to Hire Medical Marijuana Users

In an unpublished opinion, a state appellate court held the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA) did not provide a cause of action for an applicant whose conditional job offer from the City of Lansing was rescinded after he...more

About Face: OSHA Clarifies that Safety-Incentive Programs and Post-Incident Drug/Alcohol Testing ARE Permissible

On October 11, 2018, in an about-face on prior guidance, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a significant Standard Interpretation Memorandum regarding safety-incentive programs and post-incident...more

Connecticut Continues to Extend Protections to Employees under State Medical Marijuana Law, Rejects Federal Preemption Defense

A Connecticut federal court has issued another decision in the case of Noffsinger v. SSC Niantic Operating Company LLC, further expanding protections to individuals who are qualified under Connecticut’s Palliative Use of...more

Maine Employers Must Ignore Off-Work Marijuana Use, Cease Testing Applicants

On February 1, 2018, Maine will become the first jurisdiction in the nation to protect workers from adverse employment action based on their use of marijuana and marijuana products, provided the use occurs away from the...more

DOT Tackles the Opioid Crisis: Agency Issues Guidance on Regulations Adding Semi-Synthetic Opioids to Testing Panel

Effective January 1, 2018, employers with employees subject to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s drug-testing regulations will face new and broader testing obligations based on a Final Rule issued in November 2017....more

In the First Case of its Kind, Court Rules Federal Law Does Not Trump Employee Protections under State Medical Marijuana Law

Employers nationwide take note: if your workplace drug and alcohol-testing policies take a zero tolerance approach to medical marijuana because the use, distribution, or possession of marijuana is unlawful under federal law,...more

Tennessee Employers Subject to New Obligations to Report Healthcare Practitioners' Confirmed Drug (but not Alcohol) Tests and Test...

A new Tennessee law, effective July 1, 2017, imposes new reporting requirements on healthcare practitioner (HCP) employers. Under the new reporting law, in certain circumstances, HCP employers must "promptly" report to the...more

Maine Delays Effective Date of Anti-Discrimination Provisions of Recreational Marijuana Law

On November 8, 2016, Maine voters approved “Question 1”—An Act To Legalize Marijuana (“ALM” or “the Act”). “Emergency” legislation since passed by the Maine legislature and signed by Governor Paul LePage now provides...more

DOT Creates CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, Imposing Employer Reporting and Query Obligations

On December 2, 2016, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced a final rule establishing a new “Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.” The Clearinghouse will provide a central database identifying...more

OSHA’s New Electronic Accident Reporting Rule Seeks to Dramatically Impair Post-Accident Drug and Alcohol Testing

Many thousands of employers implement post-accident drug and alcohol testing policies to promote workplace safety, as part of accident investigation efforts and in the hope of reducing workplace accidents and workers’...more

Eighth Circuit Rules Minnesota's Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act Has Multi-State Reach

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently expanded the reach of the Minnesota Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act (“DATWA” or “the Act”) by ruling that the Act can apply to the employees of...more

Colorado Supreme Court Upholds Termination of Employee for Medical Marijuana Use

On June 15, the Colorado Supreme Court provided good news to Colorado employers that prohibit employee marijuana use.  In the long-awaited decision in Coats v. Dish Network, the court ruled that medical marijuana use—which is...more

Solicitation and Distribution Rules and Their Enforcement Under Attack: NLRB Continues to Narrow Employer Limitations on Workplace...

The National Labor Relations Act’s limitations on employer no-solicitation/no-distribution policies have been established for decades, right? Most labor relations practitioners and Human Resources specialists are familiar...more

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