News & Analysis as of

Marijuana Drug Testing Employee Rights

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

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Building an Exemption: California Construction Employers Allowed to Drug Test for Marijuana

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

California prohibits employers from discriminating against employees because of off-duty use of marijuana, with some exemptions. One exemption is for “the building and construction trades.” California’s AB 2188 greatly...more

Montgomery McCracken

Pennsylvania Recreational Marijuana: Where It Stands Now and What Comes Next

Montgomery McCracken on

On May 7, 2025, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed House Bill 1200 (HB 1200), which would have legalized adult-use marijuana across the Commonwealth. The bill authorized sales through state-run stores overseen...more

Woods Rogers

Weed in the Workplace: What’s the Tea in L&E?

Woods Rogers on

In this episode, Anne Bibeau, Co-Chair of the Labor & Employment Practice, joins host Leah Stiegler to discuss marijuana use in the workplace. While marijuana remains illegal under federal law, many states have legalized its...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Should Employers Discipline Workers for Suspected Marijuana Use Without a Drug Test?

Drug testing for marijuana has never been an exact science. There is no consensus on what level of marijuana in the bloodstream constitutes intoxication. Unlike alcohol, employees who used marijuana weeks ago or longer can...more

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

Supreme Court Rules Lost Wages May Be Recoverable Under RICO For False Advertising After Drug Test Dismissal

On April 2, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a truck driver who lost his job after testing positive for marijuana may pursue claims for lost wages under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt...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

Akerman LLP - HR Defense

California’s New Drug Testing Rules Protect Employees’ Off-Duty Cannabis Use

With expanding legalization and commercialization—including several state initiatives in 2024 and perhaps even federal legislation—the chances are good that your California business has at least a few employees who consume...more

Ius Laboris

Labor law and cannabis legalization

Ius Laboris on

Cannabis in the workplace: allowed or banned? Although possession of cannabis is now legal (up to certain limits), this does not mean that employees can work under the influence of cannabis....more

Epstein Becker & Green

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

Epstein Becker & Green on

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

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

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

DarrowEverett LLP

Q2 Employment Law Updates: Non-Competes, Religious Accommodation and More

DarrowEverett LLP on

So far, 2023 has been a wild ride for employers, a theme that looks to be continuing into the third quarter of the year. While certain predictions we made during Q1 came true in Q2 (we are looking at you, NLRB), others such...more

Lathrop GPM

Employers Should Take Note of Important Minnesota Employment Law Developments From the 2023 Legislative Session

Lathrop GPM on

The 2023 Minnesota legislative session was an active one and has resulted in a number of new employment law obligations for employers with Minnesota-based employees...more

Lerch, Early & Brewer

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

Lerch, Early & Brewer on

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

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

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

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

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

Littler on

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

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

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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

New California Law Will Prohibit Employment Discrimination Based on Off-duty Marijuana Use

​​​​​​​Some of the first states that legalized the use of medical or recreational marijuana did so with warnings to users that state law provided no protections from drug testing or loss of employment due to the presence of...more

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

California Passes Bill Protecting Employees’ Off-Duty Marijuana Use

​​​​​​​California employers may soon be barred from discharging employees or refusing to hire individuals based on their off-duty use of marijuana, under a new bill headed to the governor’s desk. On August 30, 2022, the...more

Baker Donelson

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

Baker Donelson on

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

Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP

Rhode Island Employers can No Longer Discipline Employees for Out-of-Work Recreational Weed Use

Pursuant to the new law legalizing recreational marijuana in Rhode Island, private employers are now prohibited from firing or taking other disciplinary action against an employee for recreational marijuana use outside the...more

Saul Ewing LLP

New York State and the City of Philadelphia Move to Prohibit Pre-Employment Marijuana Testing

Saul Ewing LLP on

New York State and the City of Philadelphia are the latest to take action on drug testing for cannabis use. As more states and municipalities enact legislation and ordinances regarding recreational cannabis use and expand...more

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