News & Analysis as of November 17, 2024

Employment Policies

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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 -

From Cannabis to Minimum Wage and Beyond: How Did Workplace Law Issues on State Ballots Fare This Election Day?

Fisher Phillips on 11/8/2024

Voters decided more than just who would be the next President and who would be in Congress this Election Day – they also voted on a slew of state ballot measures that aimed to change your workplace. Here’s a recap of the most...more

Psychedelics and Marijuana on the Ballot: How Should Employers Prepare for Potential Legalization?

Littler on 10/28/2024

Voters in several states will decide whether marijuana or, in one case, psychedelic substances should be legal in the upcoming November 5, 2024 general election. Employers should keep their eyes on these ballot measures and...more

Pittsburgh Ordinance Bans Tests for Many Prospective and Current Employees Who Use Medical Marijuana

Littler on 10/4/2024

On September 24, 2024, the Pittsburgh City Council passed a new ordinance prohibiting discrimination against an individual’s status as a medical marijuana patient. Mayor Ed Gainey signed the ordinance the same day, making it...more

The End of Zero-Tolerance Drug Policies

McGlinchey Stafford on 9/26/2024

Zero-tolerance drug policies in the workplace are an endangered species. Traditional drug laws and policies as they relate to the workplace are being upended, and employers are increasingly struggling to grapple with the...more

Fourth Circuit Affirms Termination of Employee for Alleged Lawful THC Consumption

Poyner Spruill LLP on 9/17/2024

North Carolina employees are increasingly testing positive for illegal marijuana use while contending that they were only using legal hemp-derived products sold over the counter in this State. Some employees assert that these...more

Work This Way: A Labor & Employment Law Podcast - Episode 29: Weed in the Workplace with Christy Rogers of Maynard Nexsen

Maynard Nexsen on 8/21/2024

Our hosts Tina, Jennie and Christy sit down for an increasingly top of mind topic for many employers - weed in the workplace. Christy offers her insight on how employers can best navigate marijuana issues such as legalized...more

What Ohio Employers Need to Know As Legal Marijuana Sales Begin

Dickinson Wright on 7/5/2024

Ohio employers will soon see their employees be able to purchase recreational marijuana when dispensaries open in the coming weeks. Ohio’s recreational marijuana program stems from a 2023 citizen-driven campaign to create a...more

Clearing the Haze: Exploring the Movement Away from Marijuana Testing

Mitratech Holdings, Inc on 3/29/2024

Discussions about marijuana testing in the workplace have taken over HR circles. There has been a shift from testing, sparking debate and raising questions. What does the future look like for marijuana testing – and is there...more

Connecticut Appellate Court Rules Employer Could Discharge Medical Marijuana User Impaired on the Job

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 3/27/2024

On March 19, 2024, the Connecticut Appellate Court upheld an employer’s right to discharge an employee for being impaired on the job from medical marijuana under a state law that provides employment protections for qualified...more

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

Epstein Becker & Green on 3/26/2024

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

Connecticut Employers Can Terminate Employees Impaired by Medical Marijuana While Working; Appellate Court Also Provides Guidance...

Littler on 3/20/2024

In a significant decision about workplace drug use, the Connecticut Appellate Court backed an employer’s right to terminate a worker who was impaired on the job by medical marijuana. The decision also clarified the factual...more

Where States Stand on Medical Marijuana in the Workplace

Miles & Stockbridge P.C. on 3/18/2024

A federal judge in Vermont last month ruled a plaintiff’s medical marijuana use was not protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act. In Skoric v. Marble Valley Regional Transit District et al., the plaintiff was fired by...more

Medical Marijuana Usage Is Not Protected Under the ADA, Vermont Federal Court Rules

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 3/7/2024

On February 14, 2024, a judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont dismissed a plaintiff’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) discrimination and failure-to-accommodate case, holding that his medical...more

Accommodating cannabis: A "how-to" for employers

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP on 2/9/2024

These steps could help keep you out of trouble. An employee in a safety-sensitive job who has been diagnosed with cancer is selected for a random drug test. The test result comes back positive for TCHA...more

[Webinar] Medical Marijuana Laws in Kentucky - What You Need to Know - February 21st, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm ET

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP on 1/11/2024

The vast majority of States and the District of Columbia have now legalized the use of medical marijuana, with Kentucky set to join this list in 2025. The fast pace and varied approaches seen in this emerging field have...more

Growing Pains: Cultivating Effective Workplace Policies in a Recreational Cannabis State

Dickinson Wright on 11/22/2023

With the November 7 passage of Issue 2, effective December 7, 2023, Ohioans will be able to purchase and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and grow marijuana plants in their home. Ohio is the 24th state to allow...more

OHIO Issue 2 - What Happens if it Passes?

Bricker Graydon LLP on 11/6/2023

For Employers, passage of Issue 2 will not change anything on Day 1. Down the road, the impact remains to be seen. Ohio Issue 2, verbatim, states the following related to employers...more

The Week in Weed: October 2023 # 4

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 10/27/2023

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

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

Venable LLP on 8/24/2023

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

New Rule Will Limit DC Employers’ Ability to Crack Down on Employee Cannabis Use

Lerch, Early & Brewer on 6/29/2023

DC employers will no longer be able to take adverse action against employees for certain cannabis use. The new rules are part of the Cannabis Employment Protections Amendment Act, which was passed by the DC Council then...more

Right-to-Weed States: Assessing Impairment and Managing Employee Conduct in the Workplace

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 6/12/2023

On May 9, 2023, the Washington state governor signed a law that will make it unlawful for employers to discriminate against hiring a person based on their marijuana usage, making Washington the latest state to become a...more

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

Littler on 5/19/2023

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

Use of Cannabis by Workers in Safety-Sensitive Positions

McGlinchey Stafford on 5/17/2023

States Regulating Marijuana Use Off-Site and At Work- While states continue to regulate employers’ right to refuse to hire, discipline, or terminate employees based on their on- and off-duty marijuana use, some legal tools...more

Effective January 2024, New Washington Law Limits Employers’ Ability to Decline to Hire People for Past Cannabis Use

Miller Nash LLP on 5/11/2023

Although Washington decriminalized recreational use of cannabis in 2012, employers in Washington have been free to deny employment on the basis of any evidence of cannabis use, including pre-hire drug testing, and even if...more

5 Things Kentucky Employers Need to Know About the State’s New Medical Cannabis Law

Fisher Phillips on 4/10/2023

Kentucky just became the 38th state to legalize medicinal cannabis when Governor Andy Beshear signed SB 47 into law on March 31. This comes after many years of failed legislation and just a few months after the governor...more

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