As expected, Governor J.B. Pritzker recently signed the cannabis legalization bill that was passed along with a flurry of legislation last May.  As a result, employers will need to grapple with a number of issues before January 1, 2020. 

Indeed, the Illinois State Police recently announced that it was currently evaluating the efficacy of saliva testing for cannabis impairment testing. Illinois employers should be following the lead of the State Police and using the next few months to also prepare for legal recreational cannabis use in Illinois. 

After January 1, 2020, employees may be protected from discipline for non-work use of cannabis, under the same privacy law that protects lawful, off-duty use of tobacco and alcohol in Illinois.  To prepare for these changes, employers may wish to consider providing additional training to managers and supervisors on reasonable suspicion standards, confirm their obligations under Drug-Free Workplace requirements, review pre-employment drug testing policies, and also confirm what job duties should be considered safety-sensitive or subject to “zero tolerance” requirements. 

Employers that conduct pre-employment criminal background checks should also expect that many prior state drug-related convictions will be expunged and should not be appearing in background check reports.