December 2015

Motor carriers subject to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration drug and alcohol testing requirements in 2016 will have to conduct significantly fewer random drug tests for drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), including certain trucks and buses, and spend less money on that testing, the U.S. Department of Transportation agency said recently .

The FMCSA

The U.S. Solicitor General filed a brief  in the U.S. Supreme Court December 16, 2015 opposing Nebraska and Oklahoma’s challenge to Colorado’s legalization of marijuana. Last December, the states of Nebraska and Oklahoma filed a motion in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking permission to file suit against the state of Colorado, arguing that Colorado’s legalization

President Obama signed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act on December 4, 2015, a law that funds improvements to the nation’s roads, bridges, transit systems, and rail transportation network for a period of five years.

Among other things, the FAST Act directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to issue scientific

Another Washington court has held that an employer lawfully may terminate an employee for using marijuana, even when the employee had a prescription and used it off-duty. Swaw v. Safeway, Inc., No. C15-939 (W.D. Wash. Nov. 20, 2015).

After a workplace injury, Safeway tested its employee, Swaw, for drugs. Swaw tested positive for marijuana

An employee who took time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) and then proceeded to become highly intoxicated –resulting in his arrest for driving while intoxicated—could not show that his termination constituted FMLA interference, FMLA retaliation or a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Capps v. Mondelez Global LLC, Case No.