Bloomberg BNA Webinar Explores the Disconnect Between State and Federal Marijuana Laws and Impact on Employers

Bloomberg BNA will host a 90-minute webinar May 14 exploring whether the legalization of marijuana will affect an employer’s right to discipline employees for medicinal or recreational uses of the substance. The webinar, Out of Joint: How the Growing Disconnect Between Federal and State Marijuana Laws Impacts Businesses, is designed to present both employer and employee perspectives and will provide an overview of the legal landscape for workplace substance policies, with a special focus on how the state legalization of marijuana affects drug testing.

While the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) strictly prohibits the possession and use of marijuana, employers need to keep up with existing state marijuana laws and pending legislation in every state in which they do business and maintain a workforce. The United States Supreme Court has held that possession of marijuana is illegal under the CSA regardless of whether a state allows the use of medical marijuana. Similarly, the Sixth Circuit has held that “private employees are not protected from disciplinary action as a result of their use of medical marijuana, nor are private employers required to accommodate the use of medical marijuana in the workplace.” Employers have relied on these court holdings and federal law when dealing with employees who test positive for marijuana. However, last year, voters in Colorado and Washington passed initiatives legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. Other states are expected to follow suit, especially if taxation of marijuana sales proves to be a source of revenue that cash-strapped state and local governments can tap into.

Featured speakers discuss the legal landscape for workplace substance policies from both an employer and employee perspective, with a special focus on how the legalization of marijuana affects drug testing, and examine the ongoing obligations of some employers to maintain a drug-free workplace.

Register now for this program to:

• Learn about suggested revisions to substance abuse policies and communications to employees now that marijuana is legal in certain states.
• Learn how to handle positive drug tests for marijuana when an employee presents a “prescription” for medical marijuana or claims that a positive test results from the medicinal use of marijuana or from a long-ago use, such as in the case of “hair testing.”
• Analyze the applicability of employment laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, to employees who use marijuana.
• Understand the preemptive relationship between state and federal laws in this area.

Speakers

Barbara L. Johnson, Paul Hastings LLP
Barbara L. Johnson is a partner in the Employment Law practice of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. She is a nationally known employment jury trial and class action lawyer representing employers. Ms. Johnson regularly tries cases in various state and federal courts, raising issues of alleged race, age, gender, and disability discrimination; wage and hour violations retaliation; breach of contract; and various employment torts. She has tried more than 30 employment law cases and provides employment law advice, handles administrative matters before state and federal agencies, and conducts investigations into all types of workplace matters.


Lewis Maltby, National Workrights Institute
Lewis Maltby is president and founder of the National Workrights Institute. He is the former head of the ACLU's national workplace rights office and is quoted frequently in the media.
Mr. Maltby earned a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a B.A., cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania. He has written and lectured extensively in the area of employment law.
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