A federal court in Indiana dismissed an employee’s lawsuit after he tested positive for marijuana due to alleged CBD use and claimed that his termination was discriminatory on the basis of a disability. ...more
Manufacturers that conduct workplace drug and alcohol testing must be careful when addressing drug test results and employee disclosures of prescription medication use, especially as drug use has surged across the country...more
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) published in the Federal Register on February 28, 2022 a notice of proposed rulemaking for oral fluid drug testing of transportation employees covered by federal regulations....more
A federal court in Pennsylvania dismissed the legal claims asserted by a former employee who tested positive for marijuana on a random drug test and who attributed the test result to CBD use. Lehenky v. Toshiba America...more
A federal court in Ohio denied summary judgment to both parties where an employer refused to hire an applicant who used opioid medication as a forklift driver. The court held that there were disputed issues of fact as to...more
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed legislation legalizing medical cannabis on February 2, 2022. Known as the “Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act”, the law permits the use of medical cannabis to treat certain debilitating...more
The Department of Transportation’s operating agencies have announced their random drug and alcohol testing rates for 2022. The random test rates did not change, except for maintenance-of-way workers under the Federal Railway...more
The New York Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently published guidance and FAQs entitled “Adult Use Cannabis And The Workplace – New York Labor Law 201-D” to address questions related to the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation...more
Employers who are regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation and their service agents (collectors, laboratories and Medical Review Officers) must ensure that they use the revised Federal Custody and Control Form...more
The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a “Clearinghouse Update” on May 27, 2021 reminding commercial motor vehicle drivers who are regulated by the FMCSA that they should...more
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed legislation legalizing medical cannabis on May 17, 2021. Known as the Darren Wesley “Ato” Hall Compassion Act, the law permits the use of medical cannabis to treat certain medical conditions...more
The city of Philadelphia, PA. has enacted a law prohibiting employers from testing for marijuana as a condition of employment, effective January 1, 2022.
The new Chapter 9-4700 of the Philadelphia Code states that except...more
5/6/2021
/ Child Care ,
Drug Testing ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Contractors ,
Health and Safety ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Marijuana ,
New Regulations ,
Police ,
State and Local Government
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
4/2/2021
/ Cannabis Products ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Testing ,
DUI ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act (MRTA) ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Recreational Use
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law three marijuana reform bills on February 22, 2021. The first, New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (A21), legalizes and...more
The Department of Transportation’s operating agencies have announced their random drug and alcohol testing rates for 2021. The random test rates did not change for 2021...more
A federal court in Indiana dismissed an employee’s claim that his employer did not have the right to request a medical examination after he tested positive for drugs and subsequently admitted that he was taking numerous...more
A federal court in Tennessee dismissed an employee’s lawsuit in which she claimed that her employer should have changed its drug policy to allow CBD use. Hamric v. City of Murfreesboro, Case No. 3:18-cv-01239 (September 10,...more
A federal court in Rhode Island allowed a former employee to proceed with her lawsuit alleging that the employer violated state law when it terminated her employment after a positive breath alcohol test. Stafford v. CSL...more
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), proposed scientific and technical guidelines for hair drug testing in federal workplace drug testing...more
The Supreme Court of Ohio held that an at-will employee has no cause of action for common law invasion of privacy after the employer required the employee to submit to a directly-observed urine collection drug test. Lunsford...more
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued two technical assistance documents on August 5, 2020, addressing accommodation issues under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for employees who use opioid...more
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a Notice of Enforcement Discretion Determination on July 6, 2020 concerning random drug and alcohol testing during calendar year 2020....more
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) announced on June 5, 2020 an extension of the waiver period that is available when a commercial motor vehicle driver has been out...more
An employer may terminate an employee for refusing to submit to a drug test based on reasonable suspicion under the state drug testing law, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has held. Colpitts v. W.B. Mason Co., Inc., No....more
The Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit against an employer who terminated an employee for refusing to submit to a reasonable suspicion drug test, even though the employee’s odd behaviors could have...more