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Medical Marijuana Drug Testing Adverse Employment Action

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... more +
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 -
Seyfarth Shaw LLP

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

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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

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

Connecticut Employers Can Terminate Employees Impaired by Medical Marijuana While Working; Appellate Court Also Provides Guidance...

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In a significant decision about workplace drug use, the Connecticut Appellate Court backed an employer’s right to terminate a worker who was impaired on the job by medical marijuana. The decision also clarified the factual...more

Lerch, Early & Brewer

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

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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

McGlinchey Stafford

CBD & The Workplace, A Word to The Wise

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Federally legal CBD products may, under some circumstances, cause consumers to fail drug tests. An employer’s right to terminate employee-consumers on that basis is not prohibited by federal law, including the Americans with...more

Littler

Washington Amends Law to Protect Off-Duty Marijuana Use in 2024

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On Tuesday, May 9, 2023, Governor Inslee signed into law Senate Bill No. 5123, which will protect prospective employees from discrimination in hiring due to their lawful, off-duty use of marijuana. With this law, Washington...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Cannabis Can Dos and Cannots: Employers and Mississippi’s Medical Marijuana Law

It looks like medical marijuana products may be available in the Magnolia state later this fall. As expected, it will be highly regulated and can only be used by registered, qualified patients who have been diagnosed with a...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

District of Columbia Provides Employment Protections to Cannabis Users

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The District of Columbia legalized cannabis for medicinal purposes in 2010 and began to permit individuals to use the drug recreationally in 2015. Last month, on July 13, 2022, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the...more

Fisher Phillips

Puff, Puff, PASSED: 6 Things Mississippi Employers Need to Know as State Passes Medical Cannabis Act

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Mississippi just became the 37th state to legalize medical marijuana when Governor Tate Reeves (somewhat begrudgingly) signed a bill into law on February 2 to decriminalize the use of marijuana/cannabis for medical purposes....more

Littler

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

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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

Fisher Phillips

What New York State Employers Need To Know About Cannabis Legalization

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Recreational use of cannabis or marijuana is now legal in New York State. On March 31, Governor Cuomo signed into law the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act. The legalization of cannabis will have significant short and...more

Saiber LLC

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

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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

Flaster Greenberg PC

WHAT ARE YOU SMOKING? New Jersey’s New Cannabis Law Also Changes the Rules for Employers

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As New Jersey enters a new era of legalized cannabis, employers face a whole new crop of questions about responding to employee cannabis use. The newly passed New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and...more

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

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

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

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

New York City Adopts Rules Clarifying the “Safety-Sensitive” Exception for Pre-Employment Marijuana Tests

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Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 16, 2020, the New York City Commission on Human Rights adopted new rules clarifying the catch-all “safety-sensitive” exception to the prohibition against New York City employers requiring job...more

Littler

Rhode Island Supreme Court Upholds Dismissal of Driver Who Refused Reasonable Grounds Drug Test

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On May 29, 2020, the Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed a trial court’s dismissal of a lawsuit alleging a violation of the Rhode Island drug testing statute brought against an employer that terminated an employee for...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

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

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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

FordHarrison

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

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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

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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

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

Colorado Representative Introduces Bill to Expand State’s Lawful Activities Law to Include Cannabis

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On January 10, 2020, Colorado Representative Jovan Melton (D) introduced House Bill 20-1089, which proposes to clarify that the existing prohibition on an employer terminating an employee for the employee’s lawful off-duty...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Illinois Amends Recreational Cannabis Law To Protect Drug Testing By Employers

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Earlier this month, Governor Pritzker signed into law SB 1557, revising the Recreational Cannabis Law to expand permissible marijuana testing and related adverse action....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

K&L Gates LLP

Working Wise: New Jersey's Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act

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In this episode, Meghan Meade discusses employer obligations towards disabled employees in light of New Jersey's recent amendments to the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, finishing off with a brief update on what's...more

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