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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…

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…

Due to the proliferation of state and local laws legalizing marijuana and protecting off-duty use, employers are struggling with whether it makes sense to continue to drug test for marijuana.  Earlier this month I was privileged to record a podcast with the Disability Management Employer Coalition on the topic of “To Test or Not: Employers…

The Supreme Court of Nevada upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit by an employee who was terminated after testing positive for marijuana on a post-accident drug test.  The Court rejected the employee’s claims that his use of marijuana outside of work hours was “lawful use” under state law.  Ceballos v. NP Palace, LLC, No.…