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®
The United Kingdom continues to see rapid growth in the number of workplaces adopting remote and hybrid work arrangements, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although this new type of work offers many...more
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 2024 underway, we highlight some of the most pressing legal issues facing employers this year, including increased regulation of noncompetition agreements, new paid family and medical leave laws, a new Overtime Rule, and...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
In late March 2024, California Assemblyman Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) introduced a bill, AB 2751, that would recognize a right for employees in California to “disconnect” or ignore communications from their employer during...more
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
It’s 7:30 PM on a Thursday night and you check your phone after finishing dinner – and you see a business emergency starting to brew. You could use some help from your team tonight to gear up for what is bound to be a crazy...more
New laws in 2024 expand workplace protections for employees regarding their current and past cannabis use. Nikki Mahmoudi and Tomiwa Aina review these changes, previewed in our 2024 Employment Law Update seminars, in this...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
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
On December 16, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) abandoned the employer-friendly access standard for off-duty employees of an onsite contractor that was adopted under the Trump Administration in...more
Last month, the California Legislature voted to join what it refers to as “the movement to legalize and regulate the non-medical use of cannabis” across the United States, including offering employment protection for such...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
California employers may soon be barred from discharging employees or refusing to hire individuals based on their off-duty use of marijuana, under a new bill headed to the governor’s desk. On August 30, 2022, the...more
Ending years of discussion about the scope of state law employment protections for individuals who use marijuana recreationally, the Nevada Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s decision to dismiss a complaint by an...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
On June 7, 2022, the Council of the District of Columbia passed the Cannabis Employment Protections Act of 2022 (the “Bill”). If signed into law by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, the Bill would prohibit employers, with certain...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 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
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
Recent events in Washington D.C. and elsewhere have heightened tensions across the United States and led to renewed questions from employees and employers regarding how to respond to political speech inside (and outside) the...more
As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on and continues to hammer businesses, workers, and lifestyles with record-high infection rates and hospitalizations, companies still face challenges in ensuring employees comply with critical...more