Developments in Regulating Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing
The Pittsburgh City Council unanimously passed an ordinance prohibiting discrimination against medical marijuana patients in the workplace and limiting certain types of marijuana drug testing by employers as to these patients. Mayor Ed Gainey is expected to sign the measure and it will take effect immediately after signing.
Pennsylvania state law already protects medical…
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will recommend that marijuana should be rescheduled from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug, according to an announcement made April 30, 2024 by the U.S. Department of Justice. This means that marijuana would be considered a drug with “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.”…
The new year is approaching quickly and employers must get ready for the new marijuana laws that will take effect in California and Washington. These laws are very different from other states’ marijuana laws. In our firm’s latest “We Get Work” podcast, Catherine Cano and I discuss what employers need to know about these laws. …
Under a new Minnesota law legalizing recreational marijuana, beginning August 1, 2023, individuals 21 years of age or older may possess or transport up to two ounces of cannabis flower in public and to possess up to two pounds of cannabis flower in the individual’s private residence, among other things.
Minnesota has had a medical…
A Quest Diagnostics analysis published on May 18, 2023 found that positive post-accident marijuana tests were at the highest level in 25 years in 2022. Positive post-accident tests increased to 7.3%, an increase of 9% compared to 6.7% in 2021. Positive post-accident tests have been steadily increasing since 2012, with a 204.2% increase over a…
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) published new regulations in the Federal Register on May 2, 2023 that will allow covered employers to use oral fluid testing for drugs. While the new rules technically become effective on June 1, 2023, employers may not conduct oral fluid testing until the U.S. Department of Health and Human…
The state of Washington will prohibit employers from making hiring decisions based on off-duty use of cannabis or positive pre-employment drug test results that find an applicant to have nonpsychoactive cannabis metabolites in their hair, blood, urine, or other bodily fluids. The new law (SB 5123) takes effect on January 1, 2024.
Noting that recreational…
It’s been two years since the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act legalized marijuana in New York State on March 31, 2021 and prohibited employers from drug testing for marijuana (for tests that are not federally-mandated). Because many employers still are confused about what New York law requires, here is a recap:
All Off-Duty Use of …
Governor Gavin Newsome signed into law September 19, 2022 several measures relating to marijuana, including one that prohibits employment discrimination based on off-duty use of marijuana. The law takes effect on January 1, 2024.
The law will prohibit an employer from discriminating against a person in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment,…
The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission published guidance on September 9, 2022, for employers to address marijuana impairment in the workplace. The guidance does not, however, provide the long-awaited certification standards for Workplace Impairment Recognition Experts.
In February 2021, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (CREAMMA), legalized adult use recreational…
