{"id":5524,"date":"2024-07-15T17:11:17","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T21:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabisworkforce.org\/?page_id=5524"},"modified":"2024-07-15T17:18:22","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T21:18:22","slug":"cannabis-drug-testing-in-the-workplace","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cannabisworkforce.org\/cannabis-drug-testing-in-the-workplace\/","title":{"rendered":"Cannabis Drug Testing in the Workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"5524\" class=\"elementor elementor-5524\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-9681a8a elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"9681a8a\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-af15f71\" data-id=\"af15f71\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5a9e28c explainer-body elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5a9e28c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In March 2021, adult use cannabis for people over 21 became legal in New York State when the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) was signed into law. Employers should review their employment practices and policies to ensure compliance with MRTA. Employees should know their rights and responsibilities with respect to work and cannabis use.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>How does MRTA affect employment practices?<\/strong><\/p><p>Employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees based on their use of cannabis outside of the workplace and outside of work hours.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>An employer may discipline or fire and employee, or prohibit employee use of cannabis, where:<\/p><ul><li>The employer is required to act by state or federal statute, regulation, or ordinance, or other state or federal governmental mandate (e.g., Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, etc.)<\/li><li>The employer would be in violation of federal law<\/li><li>The employer would lose a federal contract or federal funding<\/li><li>The employee exhibits specific symptoms of cannabis impairment while working that decreases performance or interferes with a safe and healthy workplace<\/li><\/ul><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>Which employers are affected by MRTA?<\/strong><\/p><p>MRTA applies to all private and public New York state employers regardless of size or industry.<\/p><p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><p><strong>May employers discipline or terminate an employee for being under the influence at work?<\/strong><\/p><p>Yes. The legalization of adult use cannabis does not make legal for employees to come to work intoxicated. However, there is no widely available test that shows whether a person is high or intoxicated at the time of testing.\u00a0 The smell of marijuana is not enough to prove an employee is under the influence at work. An employee must exhibit articulable symptoms of impairment for employer action to be justified.\u00a0 While there is no complete list of such symptoms, operation of equipment in an unsafe or reckless manner is considered a symptom of impairment.\u00a0<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>Can employers prohibit cannabis at work, on work property, and\/or during work time?<\/strong><\/p><p>Yes. Employers may prohibit cannabis <em>use<\/em> during work hours, which includes on-call time, paid and unpaid breaks and meal periods on <em>or off<\/em> the worksite.\u00a0 Employers also may prohibit cannabis <em>possession<\/em> on employer property, which includes company vehicles, employee lockers and desks. While an employee\u2019s private residence being used for remote work is not considered a worksite, an employer can still have a policy prohibiting cannabis use and\/or impairment during working hours.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>Can employers randomly test employees for cannabis?<\/strong><\/p><p>No, unless the employer is required to do so by law or mandate.\u00a0 Because drug tests can detect marijuana in an employee\u2019s system up to 30 days after cannabis use, a positive test does not mean the employee was under the influence at the time of the drug test.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>Can employers test employees for other drugs?<\/strong><\/p><p>Yes, employers can still require employees to be drug tested regularly or at random.<\/p><p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><p><strong>What happens if an employee\u2019s drug test comes back positive? <\/strong><\/p><p>It is illegal for an employer to fire an employee if the only justification is testing positive for marijuana.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>May employers require pre-employment drug testing for prospective employees?<\/strong><\/p><p>Yes, generally, pre-employment drug testing is legal throughout New York State. However, some municipalities may have additional restrictions and regulations that employers must follow regarding pre-employment drug testing. Employers should review and follow all applicable laws and regulations related to drug testing to avoid legal issues and ensure compliance with local, state, and federal requirements.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>For more information about MRTA and the workplace, click here:<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/dol.ny.gov\/system\/files\/documents\/2021\/10\/p420-cannabisfaq-10-08-21.pdf\">https:\/\/dol.ny.gov\/system\/files\/documents\/2021\/10\/p420-cannabisfaq-10-08-21.pdf<\/a><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-fab0a86 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"fab0a86\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-ca4f134\" data-id=\"ca4f134\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ed7231b elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"ed7231b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Download PDF<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-5ac948f elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5ac948f\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-b88d021\" data-id=\"b88d021\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9e6478f elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"9e6478f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/cannabisworkforce.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Cannabis-Retail-Businesses-Insurance-You-Need-for-Your-Employees.pdf\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">DOWNLOAD NOW<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In March 2021, adult use cannabis for people over 21 became legal in New York State when the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) was signed into law. Employers should review their employment practices and policies to ensure compliance with MRTA. Employees should know their rights and responsibilities with respect to work and cannabis use. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5524","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-02-14 02:35:09","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabisworkforce.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabisworkforce.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabisworkforce.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabisworkforce.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabisworkforce.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5524"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/cannabisworkforce.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5532,"href":"https:\/\/cannabisworkforce.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5524\/revisions\/5532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabisworkforce.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}