News & Analysis as of August 3, 2025

Drug Testing

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Medical Marijuana refers to the use of marijuana to treat or alleviate symptoms of certain illnesses. A growing number of states permit individuals to use marijuana on the recommendation of a physician. Despite state laws to the contrary, Federal law still prohibits the use or possession of marijuana. The conflict between state and federal law on this issue has created interesting enforcement issues and significant legal hurdles for medical marijuana providers. less -

Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Card-Holder Survives Employer’s Motion to Dismiss

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 6/4/2025

A recent opinion from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania serves a win to a medical marijuana card-holder who brought claims against an employer under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Pennsylvania Medical...more

Pennsylvania Federal Court Follows State Ruling That Medical Marijuana Use Is Not a Disability Under State Law

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 4/10/2025

A Pennsylvania federal court recently ruled that a job applicant who had a job offer rescinded could not allege disability discrimination under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA) for medical marijuana use as a matter...more

Florida Employers Should Consider Accommodations for Off-Duty Use of Medical Marijuana, Court Rules

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 12/19/2024

Florida law requires employers to consider accommodations for off-duty use of medical marijuana, a Florida state court has held and granted the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment....more

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

Epstein Becker & Green on 3/26/2024

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

Medical Marijuana Usage Is Not Protected Under the ADA, Vermont Federal Court Rules

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 3/7/2024

On February 14, 2024, a judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont dismissed a plaintiff’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) discrimination and failure-to-accommodate case, holding that his medical...more

Pennsylvania Appeals Court Determines State’s Medical Marijuana Act Includes a Private Right of Action for Employees

Littler on 8/20/2021

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

Federal Court in California Greenlights Drug Testing of Job Applicants

Proskauer - California Employment Law on 8/6/2021

A U.S. District Court recently dismissed the lawsuit of a former employee who claimed disability discrimination after he was terminated for testing positive for marijuana in a pre-employment drug test. Espindola v. Wismettac...more

California Court Upholds Employer’s Refusal To Hire Applicant Who Failed Pre-Employment Drug Test Due To Medical Marijuana Use

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 5/6/2021

A federal court in California dismissed the disability discrimination claims of a job applicant who failed a pre-employment drug test due to medical marijuana use, holding that he did not sufficiently prove that he was...more

Employer Discrimination Against Certified Medical Marijuana Users

Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC on 2/12/2021

On Jan. 28, the New York State Appellate Division, First Department, issued a decision with potentially significant implications for employers confronted with their employees’ use of medical marijuana. ...more

The Cannabis Conundrum: A Warning For Employers

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP on 2/8/2021

While many states have legalized medical and recreational marijuana, marijuana remains an illegal controlled substance under federal law. As we have previously discussed, this has created a conundrum of sorts for employers...more

Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana User May Proceed With Disability Discrimination And Retaliation Claims

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 1/19/2021

A federal court in Pennsylvania held that a medical marijuana user’s claims for disability discrimination and retaliation were sufficiently alleged to survive the employer’s motion to dismiss. Hudnell v. Jefferson University...more

New Precedent Set By the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on the Medical Marijuana Act

Chartwell Law on 1/13/2021

On October 29, 2020, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania set a new precedent by holding that Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act (MMA) did not safeguard a medical student from her college’s zero-tolerance drug policy. The...more

Does the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act Require Accommodation of Medical Marijuana Use? Not (For Now)

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 12/8/2020

In Harrisburg Area Community College v. Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, No. 654 C.D. 2019, (October 29, 2020), the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania recently examined the interaction between Pennsylvania’s Medical...more

Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Denies Medical Marijuana Accommodation for Nursing Student

Cozen O'Connor on 12/4/2020

In a first-of-its-kind decision issued on October 29, 2020, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court held that Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act (MMA) did not require a nursing school to accommodate a student’s use of medical...more

Managing Medical Marijuana at Workplace Amid Evolving State and Local Law

ArentFox Schiff on 12/1/2020

Since California first legalized medical marijuana in 1996, approximately thirty-two other states and the District of Columbia have followed its lead and approved marijuana use for medical purposes. Introduction [1] - ...more

PA Federal Court Upholds Private Right of Action under the PA Medical Marijuana Act

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC on 10/19/2020

Earlier this month, in the case of Hudnell v. Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, District Court Judge Gerald Pappert denied Jefferson’s motion to dismiss Hudnell’s claims for violation of the Pennsylvania Medical...more

New York Employers: Engage in the Interactive Process Before Disciplining Medical Marijuana Users

Epstein Becker & Green on 5/14/2020

Failing a drug test may not kill the buzz for medical marijuana patients in the Empire State. In contrast to courts in California and other jurisdictions, a New York state court has held that medical marijuana users are...more

Pennsylvania Court Allows Unemployment Benefits For CBD User

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 5/13/2020

A Pennsylvania court affirmed an order of the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review holding a claimant to be eligible for unemployment benefits after her employer terminated her employment for testing positive for...more

NJ Supreme Court Recognizes Medical Marijuana Discrimination

Fox Rothschild LLP on 4/7/2020

A funeral director who claims he was terminated because of his use of medical marijuana to manage cancer-related pain may pursue discrimination claims against his former employer, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in Wild v....more

NJ Supreme Court: Employees Can Challenge Termination Decisions Based on Off-Duty Medical Marijuana Use

Ballard Spahr LLP on 3/18/2020

Last week, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that an employee who was fired after revealing that he used medical marijuana outside of work to treat his cancer has a basis to sue for disability discrimination under the New...more

Failed Drug Test Not Enough to Dismiss Claim of Disability Discrimination in New Jersey

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC on 3/16/2020

Employers may need to reevaluate their response to an employee’s failed drug test following a recent decision from the Supreme Court of New Jersey. A certified medical marijuana user was terminated after testing positive...more

New Jersey Supreme Court Issues Final Say on Workplace Protections for Employee Medical Cannabis Use

Saul Ewing LLP on 3/13/2020

On Tuesday, March 10th, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued its much anticipated decision in Wild v. Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc., et al.,(A-91-18) (082836), affirming that a medical cannabis patient can assert a claim for...more

NJ Supreme Court Rules that the LAD Protects Registered Medical Cannabis Users

Epstein Becker & Green on 3/13/2020

On March 10, 2020 the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”), employees who legally use cannabis as permitted by the state’s Compassionate Use of Cannabis of Medical...more

New Jersey Employers Must Accommodate Authorized Use Of Medical Marijuana Outside Of Workplace

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 3/13/2020

The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (CUMMA) requires employers to accommodate an employee’s lawful use of medical marijuana outside of the workplace, the New Jersey Supreme Court has held. Wild v. Carriage...more

Employment Flash - February 2020

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP on 2/14/2020

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

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