Search
The Employer Handbook Blog
Articles Posted in Drug Testing
A new bill will greenlight federal employment for marijuana users
Tomorrow, I’ll be presenting “Weeding through the Haze: State and Federal Marijuana Laws and Implications” at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s 2023 EXCEL Training Conference in Washington, DC.
Between now and then, I’ll need to update my slide deck. Continue reading
She said the quiet part loud and the loud part, well, not at all.
The Americans with Disabilities Act does not protect employee use of illegal drugs. It does not prevent employers from testing applicants or employees for current illegal drug use or making employment decisions based on verifiable results. However, the ADA would protect an employee with a disability who fails a drug test if the employer bases its termination decision on the underlying disability rather than the test result.
But here’s the thing. Continue reading
A CBD user drug tests positive. Do we have to excuse it? Is she actually disabled?
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 CBDs for stress and anxiety — not only is there no duty to accommodate, the employee may not be able to establish an underlying disability. Continue reading
New Jersey finally offers clear guidance on cannabis testing to local employers. And by “clear,” I mean “hazy.”
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. Continue reading
Taxation without representation (and a new workplace marijuana law possibly coming soon).
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 and local laws may raise the bar for terminating someone who uses medical or recreational marijuana outside of work.
Well, I’m going to assume that the City Council of Washington, D.C. read my blog and was helping me prove my point. Continue reading
Can an employee legally be fired for using over-the-counter CBD products?
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. Continue reading
A federal judge made it really dang hard to prove medical marijuana discrimination
CommunistSquared, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Greetings from Seattle. Continue reading
Imagine testing positive for cocaine at work … and getting to keep your job?!?
Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay
A little Thursday lesson on the importance of consistency, precise language, and following your rules. Continue reading
An employment lawyer’s take on track star Sha’Carri Richardson’s suspension for using marijuana
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 employment lawyer, I’ll admit that my initial reaction was that she broke the rules and deserved the discipline associated with the infraction.
Then, I thought to myself, that is a really dumb rule. Continue reading