Employers in Arizona exhaled a sigh of relief as Governor Jan Brewer signed a new law Friday, April 29, 2011. Among other things, the new law protects employers who take action against employees suspected of working while impaired by marijuana or other prohibited substances.
While the new law seeks to protect employers from all unlawful drug use in the workplace, the law was a clear, direct, response to Arizona’s new Medical Marijuana Act (MMA) passed by popular initiative this past November. The MMA, adopted by a slim margin of just over 4,000 votes, included employment protections for those authorized to use medical marijuana under the new Act. It also created serious workplace safety concerns for employers.
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