The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published guidance on April 5, 2022 explaining how The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects people who are in treatment or recovery for opioid use disorder (OUD), including those who take prescription medications as part of that treatment.

The guidance states that individuals in treatment or recovery from opioid

A federal court in Pennsylvania granted an employer’s motion for summary judgment dismissing a former employee’s Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act (PMMA) claim because he could not show that his termination was premised solely on his status as a certified user of medical marijuana.  Matthew Reynolds v. Willert Mfg. Co., LLC, No. 5:21-cv-01208 (E.D. Pa.

A federal court in Indiana dismissed the disability discrimination and retaliation claims of a DOT-regulated driver who failed a random drug test due to prescription opioid use, holding that he did not sufficiently adhere to the employer’s policy or DOT regulations when he failed to produce a Safety Concern Letter from the prescribing physician.  Ross

The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (the “Commission”) published the first set of rules and regulations on August 19, 2021 governing recreational cannabis use in New Jersey (“Personal-Use Cannabis Rules”) under the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (“CREAMMA”).  Those regulations do not include standards for employers to utilize a Workplace Impairment Recognition

A federal court in California dismissed the disability discrimination claims of a job applicant who failed a pre-employment drug test due to medical marijuana use, holding that he did not sufficiently prove that he was disabled.  More specifically, the court concluded that the applicant’s “subjective belief” that he suffered from “chronic back pain” was insufficient

The District Court of Connecticut dismissed employment discrimination claims asserted under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) with regard to state authorized medical marijuana use.  Eccleston v. City of Waterbury, No. 3:19-cv-1614, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52835 (D. Conn. Mar. 22, 2021).

The employee was employed as a firefighter by the City.  His employment