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Marijuana Employee Rights

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

Jackson Lewis P.C.

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

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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

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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

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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?

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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

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

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

Stevens & Lee

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

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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

Whiteford

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

Whiteford on

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

Mandelbaum Barrett PC

Educate and Empower Your Team: Navigating the WIRE Mandate

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Navigating Workplace Impairment: What Employers Need to Know About WIREs - As the legal landscape around cannabis continues to evolve, employers face new challenges in managing workplace safety and compliance. With employees...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

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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

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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

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

Off-Duty Conduct Protections for Employees’ 4/20 Celebrations: A Look at the High Points of a Few States’ Marijuana Laws

With the arrival of the unofficial annual holiday known as “4/20,” employers can celebrate by reminding themselves of the state laws that could protect employees’ off-duty 4/20 celebrations....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

Weintraub Tobin

California Employment News: Expanded Workplace Protections Regarding Cannabis Use

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New laws in 2024 expand workplace protections for employees regarding their current and past cannabis use. Nikki Mahmoudi and Tomiwa Aina review these changes, previewed in our 2024 Employment Law Update seminars, in this...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

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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

The Week in Weed: October 2023 # 4

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Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, we see there’s a controversy over cannabis use and gun ownership by police officers in Jersey City, New...more

McGuireWoods LLP

California Expands Protections for Employees Who Use Recreational Cannabis

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Effective Jan. 1, 2024, California employers may not inquire about employees’ prior use of cannabis, even if the employer learns of that prior use from an employee’s criminal history. On Oct. 7, 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom...more

ArentFox Schiff

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

ArentFox Schiff on

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

DarrowEverett LLP

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

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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

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