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®
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
With the arrival of the unofficial annual holiday known as “4/20,” employers can celebrate by reminding themselves of the state laws that could protect employees’ off-duty 4/20 celebrations....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
Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, we see there’s a controversy over cannabis use and gun ownership by police officers in Jersey City, New...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
After July 1, a whiff of weed in the air means a Marylander is taking advantage of the new state law legalizing recreational marijuana. It also means potential issues for employers when it comes to how they handle off-duty...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
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
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
In recent years, employers adapted workplace policies and trainings to conform with changing state laws legalizing medical marijuana use. The landscape is continuing to evolve as many states have now prohibited adverse...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
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
Earlier this month, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that an employee’s off-duty use of recreational marijuana, which is lawful under Nevada law, is not protected under a law that prohibits employers from discharging employees...more
Legalization of medical and recreational marijuana use continues to spread across the United States despite the drug remaining a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law. This comes as respondents to Ogletree...more
On June 7, 2022, the D.C. Council approved a bill that limits an employer’s ability to test for cannabis. Under the Cannabis Employment Protections Amendment Act, most D.C. employers may not fire, fail to hire, or take other...more
Washington, DC, City Council unanimously passed a bill on June 7 that would prohibit employers from basing adverse employment actions on an individual’s lawful, off-duty use of marijuana, unless certain exceptions apply. The...more
Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee signed a bill on May 25 legalizing recreational marijuana in the state. The law, which took effect immediately, prohibits basing adverse employment actions on off-duty marijuana use, unless...more
On May 25, 2022, Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee signed into the law the Rhode Island Cannabis Act, which legalized recreational cannabis. As a result, Rhode Island has joined a small but growing minority of states that...more
On October 8, the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) issued a frequently asked questions document (FAQ) offering guidance for the workplace related to the state’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA). MRTA,...more
The New York State Department of Labor (“NYDOL”) has issued FAQ guidance addressing common questions regarding recreational cannabis use by employees in and outside of the workplace in light of the enactment earlier this year...more
Employers take note: recently New York became the 15th state to legalize recreational marijuana use through Senate Bill 854A, and Virginia is not far behind. ...more
New York’s off duty conduct law will now explicitly apply to an employee’s off-duty use of cannabis. The change in law came as a result of the recent passage of “The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act,” which generally...more
On March 31, 2021, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), legalizing the recreational use of cannabis in New York State for individuals age 21 or older. ...more
For New York employers, the new state law that legalizes cannabis also modifies the New York Labor Law (NYLL) to impose restrictions on employers and add protections for employees concerning the recreational use of...more
On March 31, 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Cannabis/Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (the “Act”), which legalizes recreational cannabis use for adults aged 21 and over. The Act provides the framework for the...more