Happy New Year!  The Department of Transportation’s operating agencies have announced their random drug and alcohol testing rates for 2024.  These rates are the annual minimum drug and alcohol random testing rates. The rates are the same as the 2023 rates. Agency 2024 Random Drug Testing Rate 2024 Random Alcohol Testing Rate Federal Aviation Administration   25% 10% Federal Motor Carrier Administration   50% 10% Federal Railroad Administration   25%  covered service 10%  covered service Federal Railroad Administration 25% maintenance-of-way 10% mai ..read more

The Biden Administration has released a Recovery-Ready Workplace Toolkit: Guidance and Resources for Private and Public Sector Employers. The Toolkit is part of Administration’s efforts to beat the opioid epidemic.   It provides information, tools, and resources to help employers effectively prevent and respond to substance misuse in the workforce and reduce its impact on employers and on the broader community.  The Toolkit encourages employers to institute “Recovery Ready Workplaces” to help reduce the stigma of substance use disorders and promote employment opportunities for t ..read more

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. Please click on the link below to access the podcast: California and Washington’s Controversial 2024 Marijuana Laws: Are You Ready? – Jackson Lewis ..read more

Joining 23 other states, Ohio has passed a recreational marijuana law. On November 7, 2023, Ohioans voted to pass an initiative legalizing and regulating the cultivation, sale, purchase, possession, use, and home growth of recreational marijuana. The new law does not require an employer to “accommodate an employee’s use, possession, or distribution of adult use cannabis.” The ballot language allows the sale, purchase, and possession of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older. In December, adults can legally possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana, up to 15 grams of cannabis extract, and gr ..read more

On October 7, 2023 Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 700, which makes it unlawful under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) for an employer to discriminate against a job applicant based on information regarding prior use of cannabis that is learned from a criminal history. However, SB 700 does not preempt state or federal laws requiring an applicant to be tested for controlled substances, nor is an employer prohibited from asking about an applicant’s criminal history as long as in compliance with state law requirements.   This change takes effect on January 1, 2024. As a remi ..read more

The District of Columbia is joining the increasing number of jurisdictions providing greater protections for private employees who use marijuana off-duty, during non-work hours. Such development remains in contrast with federal law, which still classifies marijuana as a controlled substance, prohibiting both possession and use of marijuana. In addition to protections for private employees, the D.C. Cannabis Employment Protections Amendment Act of 2022 (C.E.P.A.A.) imposes new obligations on private employers to inform employees of the new laws. D.C. Law 24-190 §§ 100 et seq.; tentati ..read more

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 cannabis law since 2014 that prohibits discrimination against medical cannabis patients. Now, the state will protect all employee off-duty use of cannabis as of August 1, 2023. Protections for Off-Duty Use The new law amends Minnesota’s Consumable Products Act (CPA ..read more

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 cannabis was legalized in Washington in 2012 and that it should now be treated like alcohol (also a legal substance), the new law is intended to prevent restricting job opportunities based on an applicant’s past use of cannabis. Cannabis metab ..read more

Voters in Maryland and Missouri approved laws to legalize recreational marijuana on Election Day 2022.  Recreational marijuana ballot initiatives did not pass in Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota. Maryland Maryland voters approved a state constitutional amendment that will allow the use of cannabis by anyone over the age of 21 on or after July 1, 2023, subject to the General Assembly passing legislation concerning the regulation, distribution, possession and taxation of marijuana. Missouri Missouri voters also approved an amendment to the state constitution.  The amendment addr ..read more

Puerto Rico’s disability discrimination statute (Law 44-1985), the local counterpart of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has been amended to extend coverage to registered and authorized medical cannabis patients. The amendment (Law 90-2022) went into effect on October 14, 2022, upon Governor Pedro Pierluisi’s signing. Prior to the amendment, Law 44-1985’s definition of a “qualified individual with a disability” specifically excluded all active users of illegal substances, as defined by federal law. Since marijuana is illegal under federal law, medical cannabis patients were not prote ..read more