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Employee Rights State Labor Laws Cannabis Products

Most countries provide some degree of workplace protection for employees and job applicants. Depending on the jurisdiction, these protections generally include safety precautions and policies, anti-discrimination... more +
Most countries provide some degree of workplace protection for employees and job applicants. Depending on the jurisdiction, these protections generally include safety precautions and policies, anti-discrimination policies, collective bargaining and unionizing rights, meal and rest requirements, minimum wage rules, and medical and family leave rights to name a few. In the United States, the federal framework for employee rights stem from statutes such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In addition, employee rights statutes are implemented and enforced by regulatory authorities such as the EEOC, NLRB, OSHA, and the Department of Labor. Further, many state and local governments provide additional and localized protections for employees that are enforced by local regulatory entities. less -
Littler

Minnesota, Iowa Modify Employer Drug Testing Requirements

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Minnesota and Iowa have longstanding drug testing laws that place them among the more difficult states for employer compliance. This year, both states modified their laws in ways that require employers to reevaluate their...more

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

New Jersey Lawmakers Mull Stronger Labor Protections for Cannabis Industry Workers

New Jersey lawmakers recently advanced a bill that would expand labor protections for workers in the cannabis industry. If enacted, the measure—which provides stronger union organizing rights, protections for employee...more

Miller Nash LLP

Washington State Law Provides Agricultural Cannabis Workers the Right to Unionize

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A recently passed Washington State House Bill permits agricultural workers to unionize under the supervision of Washington’s Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC). On April 22, 2025, the Governor signed House Bill...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

The Best of Intentions: State Law Protections for Employee Cannabis Use May Not Protect Them After All

While not enough blogs these days quote Toad the Wet Sprocket lyrics, a recent decision from a federal appellate court holding that a would-be employee can suffer negative employment consequences for cannabis use even when...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Drug Test Woes: State Law Protections for Employee Cannabis Use May Not Protect Them After All

The changing landscape of the cannabis industry is keeping employers on their toes nationwide. As more and more states expand the legalization of cannabis products, we are also seeing a trend in the cannabis statutes for...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Protecting Off-Duty Cannabis Use in California: What Employers Should Know

As of January 1, 2024, California employers cannot make employment decisions based on an employee’s legal, off-duty cannabis use. They also cannot request information about a job applicant’s prior cannabis use. Constangy...more

ArentFox Schiff

District of Columbia Employers Take Notice: City’s Cannabis Employment Protections Amendments Act Takes Effect

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Signed into law on July 13, 2022, the District of Columbia Cannabis Employment Protections Act, provides major new workplace protections for marijuana users. Under the Act, which went into effect on July 1, covered...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Failure to Hire Claims Go Up In Smoke for Pot-Using New Jersey Job Applicant

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On May 25, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey granted an employer’s motion to dismiss a putative class action in Zanetich v. Wal-Mart Stores E., Inc. Addressing an issue of first impression, the...more

Littler

As Minnesota Nears Broad Marijuana Legalization, Employers Should Anticipate Testing, Policy Changes

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With just days remaining in the legislative session, Minnesota lawmakers remain on track to legalize recreational marijuana, significantly modify the state’s drug-testing law, and limit employers’ rights to prohibit employee...more

Payne & Fears

New California Law Prevents Employers From Taking Action Against Employees Based Solely on Cannabis Use Away From Work

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Drug screenings form a routine part of many hiring processes, but a new law may require employers to review this practice. The law, AB 2188, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 18, 2022, amends the California Fair Employment...more

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace

New York Department of Labor Issues Guidance on Cannabis and the Workplace

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

Jackson Lewis P.C.

New York Employers: Engage In The Interactive Dialogue With Medical Marijuana Users

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A New York state court denied summary judgment to an employer that terminated an employee for testing positive for marijuana, when the employee obtained a medical marijuana certification prior to the termination decision....more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act at Issue in Recently Filed Complaint

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In 2016, Pennsylvania enacted its “Medical Marijuana Act” (MMA), which permits individuals suffering from certain conditions to use marijuana for medicinal use. Several provisions in the MMA impact employers. For instance,...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Florida Senator Introduces Bill Providing Broad Employment Protections to Medical Marijuana Users

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On November 18, 2019, Florida Senator Lori Berman (D) introduced Senate Bill 962, which proposes to provide job applicants and employees who use medical marijuana various protections in employment....more

Littler

Illinois Legislature Amends Marijuana Law, Bringing Clarity, Relief to Employers with Workplace Drug-Testing Programs

Littler on

As we reported over the summer, on June 25, 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (the “Act”) into law. This Act legalizes the use, possession, and even cultivation of marijuana by...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Illinois General Assembly Passes Amendments to Recreational Cannabis Law Reducing Some Employer Liabilities

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The Illinois General Assembly passed SB 1557, revising the language of the Recreational Cannabis Law to reduce but not eliminate employer liabilities. ...more

FordHarrison

California Attempts to Weed Out Unfair Labor Practices at the State Level by Enacting Union-Friendly Regulation on Employers in...

FordHarrison on

As the cannabis industry has rapidly progressed over the years, states such as New York, New Jersey and Illinois have begun to implement legislation that encourages employers to engage in labor peace agreements with unions....more

Rumberger | Kirk

Medical Marijuana in the Workplace: What's Next?

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In 2016, Florida voters soundly passed Amendment 2, Florida’s medical marijuana law, with over 71% of the vote. Since then, two bills have been passed implementing the law, there was one high-profile lawsuit targeting the...more

FordHarrison

Recent Progression in the Legalization of Marijuana has left Employers Dazed and Confused

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In the last year, a record number of states have amended or enacted laws which regulate marijuana testing, accommodations, and use. Among these states, at least two states have specifically banned pre-employment testing of...more

Littler

New Jersey Medical Marijuana Amendments Expand Employment Protections

Littler on

New Jersey has expanded its medical marijuana program and—for the first time since the state enacted the law—adopted formal protections for employees and job applicants who use what is now called “medical cannabis.” ...more

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

New Jersey Expands its Medical Cannabis Act to Include Workplace Protections

Prior to July 2nd, New Jersey’s Medical Cannabis Act lacked protections for employees’ off-duty medical marijuana use.  Indeed, last year the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey held that nothing in the Medical...more

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

And the “Hits” Just Keep on Coming . . . Updates in the World of Medical Marijuana and the Workplace

What’s new in the world of medical marijuana, as it impacts your workplace? Quite a bit, actually. Here is the rundown. PA Medical Marijuana Act – Anxiety and Tourette’s Syndrome Added to List of Serious Medical...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

New Jersey Governor Clears the Medical Cannabis Haze

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Seyfarth Synopsis: A New Jersey appellate court recently concluded in Wild v. Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc. that even though New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (the Act) did not “require … an employer to...more

FordHarrison

Van from TV's Atlanta Helps Us Explore Drug Testing in the Workplace

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Before Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) was singing duets with Beyonce, he was the brains behind TV’s Atlanta, a comedy-drama filmed and based in Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta chronicles the efforts of Earnest “Earn” Marks...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

High Times Continue – Illinois Enacts Recreational Cannabis Law

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Seyfarth Synopsis: Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the new recreational cannabis bill, which contains extensive provisions regarding the extent of an employer’s right to ban and otherwise discipline employees for...more

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