California Employment News: Expanded Workplace Protections Regarding Cannabis Use
#WorkforceWednesday: Employees’ Off-Duty Conduct, Violence at Work Rises, the Election and the Gig Economy - Employment Law This Week®
Over the past year, we have encountered a growing number of claims raised by applicants and employees who allege that positive drug test results for marijuana were actually the result of their use of legal hemp products...more
With expanding legalization and commercialization—including several state initiatives in 2024 and perhaps even federal legislation—the chances are good that your California business has at least a few employees who consume...more
In a recent decision affirming summary judgment in favor of defendant Human Resources Agency of New Britain, Inc. (the “Agency”), the Connecticut Appellate Court (decision.pdf) provided employers with useful guidance about...more
How have the rules changed since Ohio legalized recreational marijuana? Can you still drug test? Can you test for reasonable suspicion? What if someone gets hurt at work? What if they test positive but say it’s because they...more
Beginning in 2024, both Washington and California will prohibit employers from basing hiring decisions on an applicant’s legal marijuana use. What Is Prohibited? Effective January 1, 2024, employers are prohibited...more
Governor Newsom recently signed into law numerous bills that will affect California employers come January 1, 2024. Here is a quick overview of some of the new law that are relevant for employers....more
Two new laws will take effect next year that restrict how employers may respond to worker off-duty cannabis use. One law will restrict employers’ ability to ask about prior cannabis use in the hiring process, and the other...more
Few areas of the law have evolved more quickly than the quagmire of federal, state, and local laws governing employee use of marijuana. Although cannabis remains a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act,...more
California has officially, and for the first time, provided protections for users of recreational marijuana within the employment context. California Assembly Bill (“AB”) 2188, which takes effect on January 1, 2024, amends...more
So far, 2023 has been a wild ride for employers, a theme that looks to be continuing into the third quarter of the year. While certain predictions we made during Q1 came true in Q2 (we are looking at you, NLRB), others such...more
The District of Columbia is joining the increasing number of jurisdictions providing greater protections for private employees who use marijuana off duty, during non-work hours. Such development remains in contrast with...more
Under a new Minnesota law legalizing recreational marijuana, beginning August 1, 2023, individuals 21 years of age or older may possess or transport up to two ounces of cannabis flower in public and to possess up to two...more
The requirement to maintain a safe workplace often clashes with state and local laws that protect the rights of individuals who use marijuana while off-duty, creating unique challenges for manufacturing employers....more
On Tuesday, May 9, 2023, Governor Inslee signed into law Senate Bill No. 5123, which will protect prospective employees from discrimination in hiring due to their lawful, off-duty use of marijuana. With this law, Washington...more
The state of Washington will prohibit employers from making hiring decisions based on off-duty use of cannabis or positive pre-employment drug test results that find an applicant to have nonpsychoactive cannabis metabolites...more
It’s been two years since the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act legalized marijuana in New York State on March 31, 2021 and prohibited employers from drug testing for marijuana (for tests that are not federally-mandated)....more
On Tuesday, November 8, 2022, Missouri voters passed Amendment 3 to the Missouri Constitution, which made Missouri the twenty-first state to legalize recreational marijuana. Assuming the election results are certified,...more
On September 18, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 2188, aimed at preventing employers from penalizing workers for using marijuana during their off-work hours if such use does not impair them at...more
A new law in California will significantly change the way employers can address employees’ marijuana use. While prior law made clear that employers could terminate employees for off-duty marijuana use, a new bill prevents...more
Pay Transparency Law [SB 1162] - Starting on January 1, 2023, employers are required to do the following...more
Count California as one of the states that will soon protect the recreational usage of cannabis for employment purposes. Assembly Bill 2188 (“AB 2188”) will prohibit employers from discriminating in hiring, termination, or...more
On September 18, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2188 into law, which prohibits employers from taking any adverse employment action against an employee in conjunction with an employee’s off-duty marijuana use....more
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits employment discrimination based on certain protected classes and empowers the Civil Rights Department to investigate and prosecute complaints alleging unlawful practices....more
Some of the first states that legalized the use of medical or recreational marijuana did so with warnings to users that state law provided no protections from drug testing or loss of employment due to the presence of...more