Nevada Becomes the First State to Ban Employers from Refusing to Hire Applicants Who Fail Drug Tests for Presence of Marijuana and Recent Cannabis Related Laws in New Jersey and Illinois

Nevada - The Governor of Nevada signed AB132, a law prohibiting Nevada employers from refusing to hire job applicants who test positive for marijuana. The law takes effect January 1, 2020. There are a few specific position exceptions outlined, such as firefighters, emergency medical technicians, employees who must operate motor vehicles as part of their duties, any position which federal or state law require screening tests, and positions which employers deem the safety of others could be affected.

Other Cannabis Related News -

New Jersey - New Jersey extends workplace protections for medical cannabis patients and providers. We are starting to see more and more news concerning the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana nationwide. Employers are having difficulty trying to appropriately respond to the laws in their policies and in the workplace. Adding to the difficulty is that cannabis use, regardless or medical or recreational, is still illegal under federal law.

Illinois - Illinois is the most recent state to legalize recreational marijuana, with the passage of the Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (Cannabis Act). This act preserves employer’s rights to uphold a zero-tolerance or drug-free workplace policies. But the law goes one step further with provisions protecting the privacy of employees. The law adds stipulations that prohibits employers from discriminating or taking adverse action against employees based on their use of lawful products outside of work hours and the workplace, as long as such use doesn’t negatively affect the employee’s job performance. JD Supra recapped the topic very well in this article.

These are just a few examples of how difficult it is for an employer to comply with both federal and state laws that are almost in complete conflict with one another and exemplifies the complexity for employers attempting to modify and enforce workplace drug policies in response to the news laws. We think the surface hasn’t even been scratched on the cannabis legalization issue and will become one of the top employer compliance issues in coming months. 

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This is not legal advice, for legal advice please seek legal counsel.

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