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Hiring & Firing Marijuana Employee Rights

Hiring & Firing refers to the process of recruiting, interviewing and offering employment and the process of evaluating performance and dismissing employees. Hiring & Firing is a highly regulated area and... more +
Hiring & Firing refers to the process of recruiting, interviewing and offering employment and the process of evaluating performance and dismissing employees. Hiring & Firing is a highly regulated area and can create tremendous liability for employers who fail to properly adhere to acceptable employment practices. Some of the potential pitfalls in this area stem from discriminatory hiring practices, improper performance evaluations, and retaliatory firings.  less -
Jackson Lewis P.C.

California Construction Employers May Rely On Legal Exemption To Drug Test for Marijuana

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

California’s AB 2188 greatly expanded the scope of the state’s existing marijuana laws because it prohibits discrimination based on the off-duty use of marijuana. This prohibition creates a dilemma for employers who conduct...more

Stevens & Lee

Third Circuit Predicts No Private Right of Action for Denied Job Applicants Under New Jersey Cannabis Law

Stevens & Lee on

On Dec. 9, 2024, a divided panel of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a class action lawsuit by New Jersey job applicants denied employment by Walmart because they tested positive for cannabis. The...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

Littler

Third Circuit Affirms That New Jersey’s Cannabis Law Does Not Allow a Private Right of Action

Littler on

On December 9, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the New Jersey district court’s previous ruling that there is no private right of action under New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement...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

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

Littler

California Laws Come into Effect Regarding Off-Duty Marijuana Use

Littler on

Two new laws will take effect next year that restrict how employers may respond to worker off-duty cannabis use.  One law will restrict employers’ ability to ask about prior cannabis use in the hiring process, and the other...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

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

On the Horizon: Broad Employment Protections for Marijuana Users in the District of Columbia

Last summer, the Washington D.C. Council unanimously passed a bill that prohibits employers from refusing to hire, terminating, suspending, failing to promote, demote, or otherwise penalizing any employee who uses marijuana,...more

Baker Donelson

D.C. Council Approves the Cannabis Employment Protections Amendment Act of 2022

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The District of Columbia is on the verge of joining other states and localities that prohibit testing applicants and employees for cannabis use as a condition of employment. On June 7, 2022, the D.C. Council approved the...more

Dentons

Workplace Drug Testing in Iowa Receives Further Clarity

Dentons on

The Iowa Supreme Court recently issued important decisions concerning Iowa’s private sector drug-free workplaces statute, Iowa Code section 730.5, a complex statute that contains numerous application pitfalls for employers....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,...

Virginia’s Recreational Marijuana Legislation and New Employee Medicinal Use Protections

On April 21, 2021, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed into law House Bill No. 2312 and Senate Bill No. 1406, moving the date of recreational marijuana legalization in Virginia up to July 1, 2021. The legalization...more

McGuireWoods LLP

Edible Bites Episode 5: Weed at Work: Employment Law Trends

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In episode five of McGuireWoods’ Edible Bites video series, topics of discussion center on employment law trends, how different state laws for medical and recreational cannabis impact employees, and how organizations should...more

Littler

New Jersey’s Legalization of Recreational Cannabis Use Includes Critical Employee Protections, But Leaves Many Questions...

Littler on

On the heels of New Jersey voters ratifying an amendment to the state’s constitution to permit the recreational use of marijuana, the New Jersey Legislature on December 17, 2020 passed the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory,...more

FordHarrison

New Jersey's Supreme Court Upholds Reinstatement of Medical Cannabis User's Claim Under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination

FordHarrison on

On March 10, 2020, the New Jersey Supreme Court affirmed the reinstatement of a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by a medical cannabis cardholder against his former employer, after he was fired for failing a...more

Littler

Pennsylvania Court Finds Private Right of Action for Employees Under State’s Medical Marijuana Law

Littler on

Following the lead of other courts around the country, a Pennsylvania state court has held that employees can bring lawsuits against their employers asserting claims under the state’s medical marijuana law. Palmiter v....more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Employment Flash - February 2020

This edition of Employment Flash looks at recent NLRB activity, including its decision (overruling an Obama-era decision) regarding confidentiality rules for employees during ongoing workplace investigations. We also discuss...more

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

Medical Marijuana Musings (Two Years Later)

Two years ago, the first medical marijuana dispensary opened in Pennsylvania. Since that time, well over a hundred thousand Pennsylvania residents have become certified to use medical marijuana, additional conditions were...more

Rumberger | Kirk

Medical Marijuana Employee Protection Act: What the Future Could Hold for Florida

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With the passing of the 2016 constitutional amendment and the Legislature’s enacting of statutes implementing the voters’ will, hundreds of thousands of Floridians have become lawful medical marijuana users. Originally...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

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Illinois Amends Recreational Marijuana Statute to Clarify Employers’ Rights

On December 4, 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law amendments to the Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (Illinois Cannabis Act) that clarify employer rights to enforce reasonable workplace drug...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

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...

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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

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