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Disability Discrimination Medical Marijuana

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Card-Holder Survives Employer’s Motion to Dismiss

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A recent opinion from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania serves a win to a medical marijuana card-holder who brought claims against an employer under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Pennsylvania Medical...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Federal Judge in Pennsylvania Reverses Dismissal of Medical Marijuana Cardholder’s Disability Discrimination Claim

On April 11, 2025, a federal judge for the U.S. Western District of Pennsylvania reversed his recent decision to dismiss a disability discrimination claim from a job applicant with a medical marijuana card who alleged he had...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Pennsylvania Federal Court Follows State Ruling That Medical Marijuana Use Is Not a Disability Under State Law

A Pennsylvania federal court recently ruled that a job applicant who had a job offer rescinded could not allege disability discrimination under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA) for medical marijuana use as a matter...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Florida Court Rules That the Florida Constitution Requires Employers to Accommodate Off-Duty Medical Marijuana Use

A Florida state court recently held that an employer violated the Florida Civil Rights Act by failing to accommodate an employee’s off-duty, off-site medical marijuana use to treat his disabilities....more

Whiteford

Employment Law Update: U.S. District Court Denies Right to Use Medically Prescribed Marijuana at Work

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In a case successfully defended on behalf of a Maryland employer by Whiteford attorneys before the U.S. District Court for Maryland, an employee challenged a Maryland employer’s right to terminate employment due to the use of...more

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace

Florida HR Considerations: Marijuana in the Workplace

First, a recent circuit court decision (which is now on appeal) held that the Florida Civil Rights Act (FCRA) requires employers to consider reasonable accommodations for off-duty medical marijuana use. In Giambrone v....more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Florida Employers Should Consider Accommodations for Off-Duty Use of Medical Marijuana, Court Rules

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Florida law requires employers to consider accommodations for off-duty use of medical marijuana, a Florida state court has held and granted the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment....more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

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

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

Epstein Becker & Green

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

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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

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

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

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

Littler

Nevada Supreme Court Allows Employees to Sue Employers for Failure to Accommodate Medical Marijuana Use, Rejects Possible Related...

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Resolving prior uncertainty as to whether Nevada law provides workplace protections to employees who use medical cannabis away from work, the Nevada Supreme Court has decided that NRS 678C.850(3), a statute in the NRS Chapter...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Puerto Rico Disability Discrimination Law Covers Registered and Authorized Medical Cannabis Patients

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Puerto Rico’s disability discrimination statute (Law 44-1985), the local counterpart of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has been amended to extend coverage to registered and authorized medical cannabis patients....more

Fisher Phillips

The Top 17 Workplace Law Stories from February 2022

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It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more

Littler

Pennsylvania Appeals Court Determines State’s Medical Marijuana Act Includes a Private Right of Action for Employees

Littler on

In a case of first impression, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania has determined that employees can sue their employers for claims under the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act (MMA).  Palmiter v. Commonwealth Health Sys.,...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Pennsylvania Court Holds Medical Marijuana Act Allows Employees to Sue for Discrimination

On August 5, 2021, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania held for the first time that Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act (MMA) allows an employee to sue his or her employer for taking an adverse employment action based on the...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

Federal Court in California Greenlights Drug Testing of Job Applicants

A U.S. District Court recently dismissed the lawsuit of a former employee who claimed disability discrimination after he was terminated for testing positive for marijuana in a pre-employment drug test.  Espindola v. Wismettac...more

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace

Employee Disability and Cannabis Oil Protections Set to Take Effect in Virginia

Quick Hit: Two new laws in Virginia providing disability discrimination protections and protections for medicinal use of cannabis oil for employees go into effect July 1, 2021. Key Takeaway: Virginia, once known as a...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

California Court Upholds Employer’s Refusal To Hire Applicant Who Failed Pre-Employment Drug Test Due To Medical Marijuana Use

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A federal court in California dismissed the disability discrimination claims of a job applicant who failed a pre-employment drug test due to medical marijuana use, holding that he did not sufficiently prove that he was...more

Morgan Lewis

New York’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act: Employer Considerations

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New York’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act legalized recreational cannabis in New York State on March 31, 2021. While it will take some time to organize and implement many aspects of the law ...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

State & Local Employment Law Developments: Q1 2021

The year 2021 continues the trend of increasing regulation of the workplace by state and local governments. Although it is not possible to discuss all state and local laws, this update provides an overview of recent and...more

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

Are Medical Marijuana Users Protected by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act?

The answer to this question is . . . it depends.  Based on three recent court decisions, whether the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (“PHRA”) protects medical marijuana (“MMJ”) users from discrimination on the basis of their...more

Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC

Employer Discrimination Against Certified Medical Marijuana Users

On Jan. 28, the New York State Appellate Division, First Department, issued a decision with potentially significant implications for employers confronted with their employees’ use of medical marijuana. ...more

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

The Cannabis Conundrum: A Warning For Employers

While many states have legalized medical and recreational marijuana, marijuana remains an illegal controlled substance under federal law. As we have previously discussed, this has created a conundrum of sorts for employers...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana User May Proceed With Disability Discrimination And Retaliation Claims

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A federal court in Pennsylvania held that a medical marijuana user’s claims for disability discrimination and retaliation were sufficiently alleged to survive the employer’s motion to dismiss. Hudnell v. Jefferson University...more

Chartwell Law

New Precedent Set By the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on the Medical Marijuana Act

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On October 29, 2020, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania set a new precedent by holding that Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act (MMA) did not safeguard a medical student from her college’s zero-tolerance drug policy. The...more

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