It’s Getting Harder to Fire People for Using Pot
Groundbreaking lawsuits are making employers and states rethink the way the workplace treats weed.
The stories all go something like this: An employee is ordered to take a drug test. They have a medical marijuana prescription for a legitimate illness and tell their employer as much. The employer goes ahead with the test, gets back the positive results, and fires the employee.
Most states have statutes giving companies the right to drug-test the people they hire and to fire them for coming to work under the influence; in the ones that don’t, courts have largely blessed the process. The precedents are murkier when it comes to employees who partake in a state-sanctioned, medically helpful drug in their off hours—and even more so for those who partake recreationally where it’s legal to do so. Until the last few years, courts had largely backed companies that enforce zero-tolerance drug-free workplace policies. But with legalization sweeping the country and stigmas about pot smokers fading, judges and lawmakers are beginning to side with employees.