The EEOC has guided employers to accommodate employee use of certain prescribed medications, and excuse failed drug tests that reflect the presence of those drugs — if it is done safely — because those individuals who test positive likely have an underlying disability. But, when employee self-medicate — like with…
Like saying, “It depends,” you can count on a lawyer blogging about cannabis and employment law to drop a marijuana pun in the title of the post. Legal recreational cannabis and its impact at work. In early 2021, New Jersey legalized recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older when Governor…
On Monday, I blogged here about an employee using CBD for her migraines who accused her employer of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. It fired her after she tested positive for marijuana on a drug test at work. One of my takeaways from the post was that particular state…
Last night, I read this federal court opinion where a defendant, sued after firing a plaintiff who used CBD for her disability, got the entire case dismissed. So, let’s talk about how and why. According to the plaintiff’s complaint, she had a disability for which she used an over-the-counter CBD…
CommunistSquared, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Greetings from Seattle. Before I begin my day of **checks notes** culture and refinement, I figured I’d blog first about this recent opinion from a federal court in Pennsylvania. It involves an individual — let’s just call him “Plaintiff” — who claimed that his former…
Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay A little Thursday lesson on the importance of consistency, precise language, and following your rules. But before I do that, might you be interested in “Everything HR Ever Wanted to Know about Mandating COVID-19 Vaccinations in the Workplace“? If learning more about religious accommodations, booster…
Image by Please Don’t sell My Artwork AS IS from Pixabay Last week, I read the news that Sha’Carri Richardson, one of the favorites to win Olympic gold for the United States in the women’s 100-meter dash, was suspended for a month for testing positive for marijuana. As a management-side…
Image Credit: Pixabay (https://pixabay.com/en/marijuana-scales-legalization-drugs-2754249/) It’s been a minute since I’ve gotten to blog about the Americans with Disabilities Act and accommodating an individual with a disability and a marijuana card who uses doctor-prescribed marijuana off the clock. Better dust off the cannabis scales of justice for this one. The ADA…
Image Credit: cannabis chemical test by ProSymbols from the Noun Project As more states and localities legalize or decriminalize the use of recreational marijuana, the next logical step is to preclude employers from testing for marijuana use as a condition of employment. Why? It comes does to dollars and cents.…
elsaolofsson, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons and Cannabis News No, today isn’t “Bring Your Bong To Work” Day. That’s tomorrow. But the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is finally conceding in this memo that marijuana use may not be a concern when considering the suitability or fitness of…