= Member Only
January 25th, 2008
Law or No Law, Pot Smokers Can Get Canned in California
For better or for worse, California is on the cutting edge of a lot of workforce legal trends.
Here is the latest one: the state Supreme Court ruled this week that despite a voter-approved law that makes medical marijuana legal, workers who indulge can still be “fired for testing positive for the drug at work.” According to a story in the San Francisco Chronicle, Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar said, “We have no reason to conclude the voters intended to speak so broadly, and in a context so far removed from the criminal law, as to require employers to accommodate marijuana use.”
This is a big issue because, as the Chronicle story noted, “Lawyers on both sides of the case said pre-employment testing for marijuana is common among California employers, especially those that have federal contracts and are legally required to keep their workplaces drug-free.”
The issue isn’t over, however. Some California legislators are vowing to pass legislation addressing the issue. A story in the Los Angeles Times said that “Within hours of the court’s decision, Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) announced that he would introduce legislation to prevent employers from discriminating against medical marijuana users. The people of California did not intend that patients be unemployed in order to use medical marijuana,” he said.
Frankly, I don’t think the people of California thought too deeply about the possible workplace repercussions when they passed the medical marijuana initiative back in 1996. Now, you have two legal issues that are at odds: a law that allows people to use medical marijuana legally for medical purposes versus the legally mandated need for employers to provide a drug-free workplace.
Is there a right answer here? How do we handle compassionate policies and laws that are at odds with safety and common sense in the workplace? If you have an answer, I’d love to see it—either as a comment here or an e-mail to me at jhollon@workforce.com.
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://workforce.com/wpmu/bizmgmt/2008/01/25/pot_decision/trackback/
Comments
Post a comment
Blog Index
It seems to me that since California voters have passed a law allowing marijuana to be used as medicine, employers should treat it like any other medications employees might be using — i.e., if it interferes with your ability to work, it’s a problem. My understanding is that medical marijuana is often used in quantities so small as to not produce a high; if that’s the case, it should be treated like employees’ use of any other legal medication.
Posted by: Ask a Manager | January 25th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
If they have medical marijuana, it was perscribed for them by a physician. So it would not be a “drug” per se, but a perscription medication, which are legal for use in most work places the last time I checked. Possible exceptions would be operating heavy machinery or driving.
Posted by: Jameson | January 25th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
“Frankly, I don’t think the people of California thought too deeply about the possible workplace repercussions when they passed the medical marijuana initiative back in 1996.”
Maybe they were stoned at the time of vote
Posted by: Pat | January 28th, 2008 at 6:44 am
When you go in to take a drug test, they ask what medications you are on. Since it is legal, the person should have no issue filling out the form. The test can be performed as normal. Remember, the point of the drug screen is the screen out for the use of illegal drugs.
If the test is positive, a simple phone call to the doctor can verify that the person has a legal prescription.
Posted by: John Scamp | February 11th, 2008 at 11:03 am
It is a shame that California thinks they are on the cutting edge. Because of their policies, employers cannot do randon drug testing after an employee is hired. Almost every other state permits this.
It is important to know that many people can quit for a week or two and then be clean for a drug screen only to begin using after they are hired because they do not have to fear random testing.
Most states allow “no follow” instant screens so employers can do these tests quickly and get results in minutes.
Posted by: Terry Box | September 11th, 2008 at 6:24 am