Last month, the Massachusetts Supreme Court held (here) that a local employer may have a duty to accommodate an employee’s use of medicinal marijuana. You can read more about that decision at Jon Hyman’s Ohio Employer’s Law Blog.
Wait, what? If marijuana is still considered an illegal drug under federal law — it is — what duty could an employer possibly have to accommodate an employee’s use of marijuana, even for medical purposes?
Maybe, it’s not so clear.
Indeed, since Jon’s post, I’ve read a number of related articles, many of which pose questions:
- “Medical Marijuana and the ADA: Interactive Process is Everything“ by William Goren at Understanding the ADA
- “Bias Ruling Casts Doubt On Blanket Workplace Pot Bans” by Vin Gurrieri at Law360
- “Holy Smoke! Do You Have to Allow Medical Marijuana at Work?” by Janette Levey Frisch at theemplawyerologist
- “Do Employers Need to Accommodate Medical Marijuana Users?” by Lisa Nagele-Piazza at SHRM.org
- “Workplace Marijuana Rules Confronted in Discrimination Cases” by Erin Mulvaney at The Legal Intelligencer
- “How to react to marijuana use by employees without getting sued” by Lorene Park at Wolters Kluwer
- “Should Employers Cover Pot to Battle Opioid Addiction?” by Sean Forbes at Bloomberg Law
Gosh, this is confusing.
Later this week, I’ll try to clear up some of this up when I present “Marijuana in the Workplace: Don’t Get Caught Unprepared” at a national disability-management conference in Anaheim, CA.
If you’re in the house that day, stop by and say hello.
For the rest of you, I have a small favor to ask. Actually, maybe we can help each other out. That is, if you could ask one question about marijuana and the workplace, what would it be? Email me and maybe I’ll have some answers for you.