Nationwide Legal Trend – Employers increasingly unable to discipline employees who use Medical Marijuana

Today’s Missouri Lawyers Weekly chronicles a new nationwide trend that seeks to prevent Employers from disciplining employees who fail a drug test after using medical marijuana.  (Read the Missouri Lawyers Weekly Article by clicking here.  )

As you can see, several states have rebuked Employers for terminating the employment of individuals who use medical marijuana and either test positive or fail a drug test.  All of the cases cited in the attached article were based on applicable state laws.

Missouri law currently prohibits medical marijuana, although there are 3 ballot measures this November that could legalize medical marijuana if passed.

Illinois currently DOES allow the use of medical marijuana, and the current allow ALLOWS an employer to terminate employment if the employee tests positive for medical marijuana so long as the employer has a drug free workplace policy in place.

The current law in Illinois is set to expire in 2020. Although this current law still allows an employer to terminate employment for a positive medical marijuana drug test, I predict that the replacement law will prohibit Illinois employers from disciplining an employee or terminating employment for a positive medical marijuana drug test.

I will update you further as this trend develops. If you want to discuss how this might apply to any specific situation, please let me know.