News & Analysis as of September 20, 2024

MA Supreme Judicial Court

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Medical Marijuana refers to the use of marijuana to treat or alleviate symptoms of certain illnesses. A growing number of states permit individuals to use marijuana on the recommendation of a physician. Despite state laws to the contrary, Federal law still prohibits the use or possession of marijuana. The conflict between state and federal law on this issue has created interesting enforcement issues and significant legal hurdles for medical marijuana providers. less -

Zero Tolerance Drug Testing Policies in the Age of Medical Marijuana

Troutman Pepper on 8/10/2017

Q: My Company wants to institute a drug testing policy that would automatically disqualify an applicant for employment if they test positive for illegal drugs, including medically-prescribed marijuana. Is this legal?...more

Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Users Can Sue For Failure to Accommodate a Disability

Clark Hill PLC on 8/4/2017

In Barbuto v. Advantage Sales and Marketing (ASM), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently ruled that employees can sue employers for failure to accommodate a disability if they are terminated or otherwise...more

Mass. Court Clouds Marijuana in the Workplace Issues

Foley & Lardner LLP on 8/3/2017

A recent unanimous decision by the highest state court in Massachusetts sends a warning signal to employers in all states. Marijuana in the workplace is a complex and unsettled legal issue that will require all employers to...more

Thinking Out Loud About Medical Marijuana And Reasonable Accommodation

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP on 7/28/2017

(When I think out loud, beware.)- Ellen Kearns’ discussion of last week’s decision in Barbuto v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, in which the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that employers may have to accommodate...more

Massachusetts’s Highest Court Rules that Employee Fired for Medical Marijuana Use Can Hold Employer Liable for Discrimination

K&L Gates LLP on 7/27/2017

In a groundbreaking decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) ruled recently week that employees in Massachusetts who have a legal prescription for medical marijuana can sue their employers for disability...more

Massachusetts Supreme Court Finds Medical Marijuana Users Protected from Adverse Employment Action

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP on 7/24/2017

Beginning when the first states legalized use of marijuana for medical or recreational purposes, employers began speculating whether legislatures and courts in those states would continue to permit employers to exclude...more

Massachusetts Employers May Have To Accommodate Use Of Medical Marijuana, Court Says

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP on 7/24/2017

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled this week that an employee’s use of medical marijuana to treat her disability may have to be reasonably accommodated under the state’s handicap discrimination law. In Barbuto...more

Massachusetts Supreme Court Holds Employee Can Pursue State Law Disability Discrimination Claim for Failure to Accommodate...

BakerHostetler on 7/24/2017

On July 17, 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court concluded that an employee could sue her employers for state law disability discrimination for failing to accommodate her use of medical marijuana after she failed to...more

Medical Marijuana in the Workplace: An Employee's Balm; an Employer's Bane

Bowditch & Dewey on 7/22/2017

On July 17th, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Massachusetts employers may not terminate an employee merely because of his or her off-site use of medical marijuana. According to the Court, the use of medically-prescribed...more

Massachusetts: Medical Marijuana as a Reasonable Accommodation in the Workplace

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints on 7/21/2017

As our readers know, we have been monitoring decisions regarding the ability of employers to take disciplinary action against employees for using marijuana at work. The most recent high court to weigh in on this topic is the...more

Claim Of Massachusetts Employee Fired For Medical Marijuana Use May Proceed, State High Court Rules

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 7/21/2017

An employee fired after she tested positive for marijuana on a test administered in the hiring process should be able to proceed with her “handicap discrimination” claim under Massachusetts’ anti-discrimination statute, the...more

Will Employers Be Forced To Accommodate Employees Who Test Positive For Marijuana?

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 7/21/2017

On July 17, 2017 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that under the Massachusetts Anti-Discrimination law an employer may be required to accommodate an employee who is a current user of medical marijuana regardless...more

Medical Marijuana User’s Disability Discrimination Claim Survives Employer’s Motion to Dismiss in Massachusetts

Benesch on 7/20/2017

In a decision that is the first of its kind, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts reversed the dismissal of a state law disability discrimination claim arising from an employee’s request for a reasonable accommodation...more

MA Employers Beware: Employees Have a Right to Use Medical Marijuana

Burns & Levinson LLP on 7/20/2017

In a recent decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has made it clear that employers cannot take action against employees who lawfully uses medical marijuana, as doing so is tantamount to denying a request for a...more

Massachusetts Permits Disability Discrimination Claims Based on Medical Marijuana Use

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace on 7/19/2017

On July 17, 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in Barbuto v. Advantage Sales & Marketing, LLC, that an employee using medical marijuana in treatment of a chronic illness may qualify for protection against...more

Medical Marijuana Use May Be Reasonable Accommodation Under Massachusetts Law

Holland & Knight LLP on 7/19/2017

In a much-anticipated decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled on July 17, 2017, that an employee's use of medical marijuana to treat a qualified disability may be a reasonable accommodation under the...more

UPDATE: Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Patient Can Sue Employer for Discrimination

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP on 7/19/2017

On Monday, July 17, 2017, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ("SJC") issued a decision in Barbuto v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, holding that an employee may sue her employer for handicap discrimination based on her...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

Massachusetts Employers See Medical Marijuana Defense Go Up In Smoke - Supreme Judicial Court Ruling Requires Employers To Engage...

Fisher Phillips on 7/19/2017

The highest state court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts issued a decision yesterday announcing that handicapped employees who have been prescribed medical marijuana may be entitled to a reasonable accommodation under the...more

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Issues Groundbreaking Decision Allowing Medical Marijuana User to Assert State Law Handicap...

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 7/19/2017

On July 17, 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a unanimous ruling in Barbuto v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, LLC, allowing medical marijuana users to assert claims for handicap discrimination under the...more

Massachusetts High Court Allows Disability Discrimination Claims Of Medical Marijuana User To Proceed

Fox Rothschild LLP on 7/19/2017

In a decision awaited by many in the industry, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a licensed medical marijuana user who was fired after testing positive for marijuana can proceed with claims under the state’s...more

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