News & Analysis as of

Marijuana Employee Rights New Legislation

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

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

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

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

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

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

Littler

California to Protect Off-Work Use of Marijuana, Set Testing Parameters for Measuring Workplace Impairment

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Last month, the California Legislature voted to join what it refers to as “the movement to legalize and regulate the non-medical use of cannabis” across the United States, including offering employment protection for such...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

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

Littler

Got the Green Light: New Puerto Rico Law Expands Employment Protections for Registered and Licensed Medical Cannabis Patients

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On July 29, 2021, Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi signed into law Act No. 15-2021 (Act 15). Act 15 amends Act No. 42 of July 9, 2017, also known as the Act to Manage the Study, Development and Research of Cannabis for...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

Akerman LLP - HR Defense

Weed and the Workplace: Recent Developments in New York, Virginia, and Colorado

Employers take note: recently New York became the 15th state to legalize recreational marijuana use through Senate Bill 854A, and Virginia is not far behind. ...more

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

New York State Addresses a Chronic Issue: Employees Granted Protections for Off-Duty Cannabis Use

On March 31, 2021, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), legalizing the recreational use of cannabis in New York State for individuals age 21 or older. ...more

Saiber LLC

Legalization of Cannabis in New Jersey Means Employers Should Revise Their Workplace Policies

Saiber LLC on

On February 22, 2021, Governor Philip Murphy signed into law a trio of bills that collectively legalize adult use of recreational cannabis in the State of New Jersey.  The legalization of cannabis, more commonly referred to...more

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

New Jersey Legalized Recreational Cannabis – What do Pennsylvania Employers Need to Know?

On February 22, 2021, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed three bills that legalize the use of cannabis for those over the age of 21, decriminalize possession of less than six ounces of cannabis and establish civil...more

Littler

Legalization of Recreational Marijuana in NJ: Voter Approved, But Not Yet in Effect

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New Jersey Public Question 1 on this year’s election ballot sought New Jersey voters’ approval for a constitutional amendment to legalize the possession and use of marijuana for individuals age 21 and older, as well as the...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

Littler

How Might Virginia’s New Legislative Trifecta Affect Employers in the Commonwealth in 2020?

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In the November 2019 election Virginia gained a Democratic “trifecta”—both legislative chambers and the governorship are now controlled by one political party. It has been over two decades since Democratic lawmakers...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

Littler

Is Foresight 2020? Employers Confront New Laws Taking Effect in the New Year

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As the year draws to a close, employers are assessing the next wave of labor and employment laws and regulations they will face in 2020 and beyond. Most new laws taking effect at the end of 2019 and throughout 2020 are at the...more

Rumberger | Kirk

Medical Marijuana in the Workplace: What's Next?

Rumberger | Kirk on

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

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