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Medical Marijuana Employee Rights

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

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

Federal Judge in Pennsylvania Reverses Dismissal of Medical Marijuana Cardholder’s Disability Discrimination Claim

On April 11, 2025, a federal judge for the U.S. Western District of Pennsylvania reversed his recent decision to dismiss a disability discrimination claim from a job applicant with a medical marijuana card who alleged he had...more

Snell & Wilmer

Toking the Line: Where Medical Marijuana Meets Employment Law

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The use of cannabis for medical purposes is legal in 39 states, four out of five permanently inhabited U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. Some studies suggest that medical cannabis may help treat various...more

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

New Mexico Bills Would Expand Protections for Medical Marijuana and Allow Use of Medical Psilocybin

Lawmakers in New Mexico have advanced two bills that would expand protections for medical marijuana patients and permit the use of medical psilocybin....more

Whiteford

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

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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

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace

Florida HR Considerations: Marijuana in the Workplace

First, a recent circuit court decision (which is now on appeal) held that the Florida Civil Rights Act (FCRA) requires employers to consider reasonable accommodations for off-duty medical marijuana use. In Giambrone v....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

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

Clark Hill PLC

The Learned Concierge - August 2024, Vol. 11

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The Learned Concierge - Welcome to your monthly legal insights on the trends impacting the Retail, Hospitality, and Food & Beverage Industries....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

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

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

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

Maryland and Missouri Pass Recreational Marijuana, Missouri Adds Medical Marijuana Cardholder Employment Protections

On November 8, 2022, voters in Maryland and Missouri overwhelmingly approved ballot measures to legalize recreational marijuana, becoming the 20th and 21st states to do so. And, as part of the ballot initiative in Missouri,...more

Littler

Recreational Marijuana in Missouri Is Coming Soon – What Employers Need to Know

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On November 8, 2022, Missourians voted to legalize recreational marijuana, adopting “Amendment 3,” a proposal to amend the state Constitution. With this development, Missouri joins a growing number of states that have...more

Littler

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

Littler on

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

Littler

Nevada Supreme Court Affirms Termination for Off-Duty Recreational Marijuana Use

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Ending years of discussion about the scope of state law employment protections for individuals who use marijuana recreationally, the Nevada Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s decision to dismiss a complaint by an...more

ArentFox Schiff

DC City Council Enacts Major New Workplace Protections for Marijuana Users

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Medical marijuana has been legal, in the District of Columbia, since 2010. And since 2015, the City has permitted adults to use marijuana recreationally. Earlier this month, the City Council went further by unanimously...more

Pullman & Comley - Labor, Employment and...

Keep Off the Grass: A Reminder That Employers Must Address the Implications of Connecticut’s Legalization of Recreational Cannabis...

Beginning July 1, 2022, Connecticut’s law legalizing the recreational use of cannabis for adults 21 and over imposes new restrictions on employers while offering protections for employees who indulge. While that might sound...more

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace

Washington, D.C. Bill Would Limit Employers’ Ability to Discipline Based on Marijuana Testing

On June 7, 2022, the Council of the District of Columbia passed the Cannabis Employment Protections Act of 2022 (the “Bill”). If signed into law by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, the Bill would prohibit employers, with certain...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

FordHarrison

Cannabis Legalization and its Impact on the Transportation Industry

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Trends in Cannabis Legalization - While employers in the transportation industry are acutely aware of the effects COVID-19 has imposed over the last 18 months, another phenomenon has been making itself known: the...more

Saul Ewing LLP

Affirmed: Pennsylvania's Appellate Court Says "Yes" to Private Right of Action Under Medical Marijuana Act

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In a matter of first impression, Pennsylvania’s Appellate Court issued a decision affirming a private right of action under Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act (“MMA”) and permitting a claim to proceed for wrongful discharge...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

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