Discrimination, Marijuana

New Adult-Use Cannabis Law Proposed in Pennsylvania

Fox Rothschild LLP on 4/30/2024

Pennsylvania once again seems to have momentum to become one of the next states to legalize cannabis for adult use. After a bipartisan bill was introduced in the commonwealth’s Senate last year, the House now has submitted an...more

Issue 2 and Social Equity

Frantz Ward LLP on 11/29/2023

Marijuana laws have been enforced in a discriminatory manner against people of color in the United States. Despite similar usage rates across races, Black people are almost four times more likely than white people to be...more

Get Ready California Employers! A Wave Of New Employment Laws Set To Kick In Next Year.

Paul Hastings LLP on 11/2/2023

Another New Year means another flurry of new laws for California employers. Indeed, Governor Newsom had another busy October, signing over a dozen employee-friendly bills touching everything from cannabis use to workplace...more

New York Cannabis Lawsuit Overview and Possible Effects on the Much-Anticipated Adult-Use Cannabis License Application Period

Epstein Becker & Green on 8/24/2023

New York State cannabis agencies and related individuals were served with a lawsuit from four New York veterans (Carmine Fiore, William Norgard, Steve Mejia, and Dominic Spaccio, collectively, the “Plaintiffs”) related to the...more

Q2 Employment Law Updates: Non-Competes, Religious Accommodation and More

DarrowEverett LLP on 7/18/2023

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

2022, Who Were You? A Recap of Hot Issues in 2022.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 1/4/2023

As we barrel into 2023, it is worth a look back at last year. Employment law issues in 2022 were diverse, ranging from federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates (yes, that was last year) to state laws on CBD and diversity and...more

California Expands Employees’ Right to Off-Duty Cannabis Use

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 10/10/2022

Beginning January 1, 2024, and following the passage of Assembly Bill 2188, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) will add employee protections against discrimination based on off-the-job cannabis use with a...more

New Cannabis Discrimination Protections Coming to a California Workplace in 2024

Weintraub Tobin on 9/29/2022

On September 18, 2022, the Governor approved AB 2188, which amends the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), California’s employment antidiscrimination law....more

California Expands FEHA to Include Off The Job Cannabis Use

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 9/16/2022

Virtually all California employers with five or more employees are covered by the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), the state’s most noteworthy civil rights law. FEHA protects and safeguards the right and opportunity of...more

New Litigation Continues to Challenge the Social Equity and Scoring Process of the Illinois Cannabis Regulation And Tax Act

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 7/27/2022

The Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (“CRTA”), which was enacted in 2019, legalized recreational adult use cannabis in Illinois. The CRTA also created a Social Equity Program intended to offer disadvantaged people,...more

Update On Proposed Oregon Legislation – What Employers Need To Know

Tonkon Torp LLP on 4/13/2021

For this second installment in our legislative update series we have a status report on the employment-related bills discussed in our previous alert, as well as a survey of the bills that have since been introduced related to...more

New York Passes Employment Protections For Recreational Cannabis Use

Cole Schotz on 4/5/2021

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

Employee’s Request To Revise Drug Policy To Address CBD Use Was Not A Reasonable Accommodation

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 9/17/2020

A federal court in Tennessee dismissed an employee’s lawsuit in which she claimed that her employer should have changed its drug policy to allow CBD use. Hamric v. City of Murfreesboro, Case No. 3:18-cv-01239 (September 10,...more

WPI State of the States – What did the Voters Decide?

Littler on 12/3/2018

The November mid-term elections resulted in some significant power shifts at the state level. Six states (Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New Mexico, and New York) that had been politically divided now enjoy a Democratic...more

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

Littler on 1/30/2018

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

Massachusetts Top Court Permits Disability Discrimination Claim for Medicinal Cannabis

Ballard Spahr LLP on 7/24/2017

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) recently held in Barbuto v. Advantage Sales & Marketing, LLC that employees have a viable claim for disability discrimination under state law if they suffer an adverse employment...more

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Creates Employer Obligation to Accommodate Employees Using Medical Marijuana

Littler on 7/20/2017

On July 17, 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court unanimously held that an employee may pursue a disability discrimination claim under state law against her former employer for failing to accommodate the employee’s...more

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rules That Employers May Need To Accommodate Off-Duty Medical Marijuana Use

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 7/19/2017

Seyfarth Synopsis: On July 17, 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that an employer could be liable under the Massachusetts Anti-Discrimination Act for disability discrimination by declining employment based...more

Rhode Island Superior Court Rules on Job Applicant's Medical Marijuana Use

Littler on 6/15/2017

In a case of first impression in the state, the Rhode Island Superior Court recently ruled an employer is prohibited from refusing to hire a prospective employee because the employee would potentially fail a pre-employment...more

Seventh Circuit Blazes Truck Driver’s Failure to Hire Claims

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 5/18/2017

Synopsis: The Seventh Circuit affirmed a summary judgment decision in favor of the employer on the plaintiff’s race discrimination and civil conspiracy claims where the employer did not hire the plaintiff after the plaintiff...more

The Employment Law Authority - March/April 2017

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 3/22/2017

EXECUTIVE ORDERS MARK A RISING, ROILING TIDE OF IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS - In his first week in office, President Donald Trump launched a series of executive orders (EO) directing large-scale changes on...more

Workplace Policy Institute Insider Report - January 2017

Littler on 1/9/2017

Littler's Workplace Policy Institute Insider Report details notable labor, employment, and benefits news and events at the federal, state, local, and global levels. The January edition of the Insider Report reviews what...more

What Employers Need to Know About Florida's New Medical Marijuana Law

Lowndes on 12/15/2016

In addition to selecting a new President, Florida voters approved Amendment 2, which amends the Florida Constitution to legalize medical marijuana for use by individuals with specific debilitating medical conditions, as...more

10 Considerations for Planning the 2016 Office Holiday Party

Littler on 12/6/2016

The end of the year brings many reasons to celebrate, and the vast majority of employers intend to make merry by hosting a holiday party of some sort. This occasion presents an opportunity for employers to foster team spirit...more

The Employment Law Authority - July/August 2016

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 9/14/2016

On June 27, 2016, in National Federation of Independent Business et al. v. Perez, et al., the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Lubbock Division) granted Plaintiffs’ Motion for a Preliminary ...more

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