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Medical Marijuana › Drug Testing › Off-Duty Employees

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... more +
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 -
Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Lawful Products Statutes Complicate Employers' Response to Employees' Claims of CBD Use

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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

Epstein Becker & Green

Court Clarifies Employers’ Rights Under Connecticut’s Palliative Use of Marijuana Act, Guidance on Drug Testing

Epstein Becker & Green on

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

Venable LLP

Right to Reef? The Growing Number of State and Local Laws Addressing Off-Duty Marijuana Use by Employees

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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

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Minnesota Legalizes Recreational Marijuana, Protects Off-Duty Use

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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

Littler

Washington Amends Law to Protect Off-Duty Marijuana Use in 2024

Littler on

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

Lathrop GPM

Missourians Legalized It; What Does That Mean for Missouri Employers?

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​​​​​​​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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

New California Law Will Prohibit Employment Discrimination Based on Off-duty Marijuana Use

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​​​​​​​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

Venable LLP

Marijuana Users Scoring New Employment Protections

Venable LLP on

​​​​​​​A little more than a decade ago, marijuana use was illegal in every state. Marijuana use is now fully legal in 18 states and the District of Columbia, and an additional 18 states allow use for medical reasons. Going...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

New York Legalizes Recreational Marijuana

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation legalizing recreational marijuana on March 31, 2021. The legalized use of marijuana is effective immediately, even though retail sales of marijuana are not expected to begin...more

Cole Schotz

New Jersey Legalizes Recreational Cannabis And Enacts Employment Protections For Cannabis Users

Cole Schotz on

On February 22, 2021, Governor Phil Murphy signed the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (“NJCREAMMA”), which legalizes the recreational use of cannabis for adults age 21...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

NJ Supreme Court: Employees Can Challenge Termination Decisions Based on Off-Duty Medical Marijuana Use

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Last week, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that an employee who was fired after revealing that he used medical marijuana outside of work to treat his cancer has a basis to sue for disability discrimination under the New...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Colorado Representative Introduces Bill to Expand State’s Lawful Activities Law to Include Cannabis

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On January 10, 2020, Colorado Representative Jovan Melton (D) introduced House Bill 20-1089, which proposes to clarify that the existing prohibition on an employer terminating an employee for the employee’s lawful off-duty...more

Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C.

Marijuana in the Workplace

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Many of our employer clients have contacted us with questions about new laws and court decisions on medical and recreational marijuana, and what it all means for business managers charged with hiring, managing, and...more

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

Medical Marijuana Update – Delaware Court expands protections for employees’ off-duty use of medical marijuana

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At the end of 2018, the Superior Court of Delaware held that a terminated employee could proceed with his lawsuit, alleging that his employer terminated him for being a medical marijuana cardholder....more

Akerman LLP - HR Defense

Court Says Employer Cannot Refuse to Hire Based on Medical Marijuana Use

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A Connecticut federal district court has found an employer liable for discrimination for failing to hire a medical marijuana user based on a drug test....more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

It’s High Time to Update Your Marijuana Policies

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The legalization of recreational use of marijuana in several states, including California, has left many employment policies vague and confused. This article offers insights to questions every employer should be asking in...more

Littler

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

Littler on

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

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

A “Smoky” Legal Issue for 2018 – Medical/Recreational Marijuana In the “Workplace”

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Marijuana remains illegal under federal law. However, there are many states, and a few cities, which have legalized medical and recreational marijuana – creating challenges for employers, as these laws “sprout up” (pun...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

Massachusetts Top Court Permits Disability Discrimination Claim for Medicinal Cannabis

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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

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

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

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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

Fisher Phillips

Marijuana For Everyone? Society’s Changing Attitude Reflected In Workplace Practices

Fisher Phillips on

We’ve entered a new era of acceptance when it comes to the legally permitted use of marijuana. As of today, 28 states have legalized medical use of the drug, and eight states permit its recreational use. With over half of the...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Recreational Marijuana Use Becomes Legal in Massachusetts: Questions and Answers for Dazed and Confused Employers

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: Massachusetts has voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. For employers that want to maintain drug-free workplaces, the new marijuana law raises a number of questions regarding employer rights...more

Benesch

@Work: Your HR and Employment Law Update - June 2016

Benesch on

With the Ohio Senate’s passage of House Bill 523 on May 25, 2016, Ohio is poised to become the nation’s 25th state to legalize medicinal marijuana. Although the proposed state law provides direction for employers, a new OSHA...more

Stinson LLP

Marijuana in the Workplace

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The recent passage of marijuana-use legislation in states around the country raises new issues for employees and employers alike. Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia permit some form of "legalized" marijuana....more

Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP

“Up in Smoke – Are Employers Required to Accommodate Medical Marijuana Use?”

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For reasons that are subject to debate, 4/20 has become known as a holiday for those who enjoy marijuana. However, over the course of many years, the face of “pot culture” has changed to include not only those lighting up...more

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