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Didn't harsh his buzz though

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tranquility

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA

To answer the question others will ask later; yes, yes they can.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/wash-man-buy-legal-weed-spokane-fired-spotted-news-article-1.1861214

Guy waits in line for "Green Tuesday" (The opening day where pot could be "legally" sold in Seattle.) and is the lucky person to be the first to buy! He's even on the news!

Bringing home his Sour Kush he takes a couple rips off his bong when the phone rings.

"A client saw you on the news. We need you to come in for a urine test tomorrow." said the security guard's boss. Of course, our hero's test comes up positive and he is fired.

----
So, for the many who will write about if they can be fired for taking this newly state legal substance; yes, yes they can.
 


Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA

To answer the question others will ask later; yes, yes they can.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/wash-man-buy-legal-weed-spokane-fired-spotted-news-article-1.1861214

Guy waits in line for "Green Tuesday" (The opening day where pot could be "legally" sold in Seattle.) and is the lucky person to be the first to buy! He's even on the news!

Bringing home his Sour Kush he takes a couple rips off his bong when the phone rings.

"A client saw you on the news. We need you to come in for a urine test tomorrow." said the security guard's boss. Of course, our hero's test comes up positive and he is fired.

----
So, for the many who will write about if they can be fired for taking this newly state legal substance; yes, yes they can.

I love examples of the genius-osity of people. ;)
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
He'll be a very interesting case for unemployment benefits, too.
We all know that anybody can be fired for anything, but for example, if an employer believed that their employees should not drink alcohol at all, and fired someone for doing so, they could not be denied unemployment for that. Wouldn't it be the same with legal marijuana?
 

LeeHarveyBlotto

Senior Member
We all know that anybody can be fired for anything, but for example, if an employer believed that their employees should not drink alcohol at all, and fired someone for doing so, they could not be denied unemployment for that. Wouldn't it be the same with legal marijuana?
If they signed a document saying they wouldn't drink (like this guy apparently did for the reefer)?
 

tranquility

Senior Member
As the courts have said many times, it is not legal marijuana, even when we are talking about medical marijuana. It is still a federal crime and why I put quotes around legally in the first post. The reason why unemployment might be a fun issue is that it tends to be state law and not federal on the determining of benefits. However, since there is a federal component in funding, that argument (state law only) may not fly.
 

Ladyback1

Senior Member
Given that federal law prohibits marijuana, and some states have legalized medical marijuana, is it unlawful discrimination to fire someone simply for having a disease/illness/condition and the drug they use to treat said condition is illegal on a federal level?

There was a case a few years back, where an employee of a bear habitat (tourist attraction) was attacked/mauled by a bear in the course and scope of his employment. He filed for Workers' compensation. It was discovered that he had a medical marijuana card, and presumably tested positive for THC....He was STILL eligible for WC benefits per the MT Supreme Court.
http://www.lexisnexis.com/legalnewsroom/workers-compensation/b/workers-compensation-law-blog/archive/2010/05/10/worker-s-pot-smoking-prior-to-feeding-grizzly-bears-does-not-defeat-montana-comp-claim.aspx

So, how is it that an employer can say: "you failed a random drug screen. We don't care that you have the legal right to treat your medical/psych condition with marijuana, per state law, you are fired," ?
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
No. Even under the Federal ADA, an employee can be fired for being under the influence at work or having illegal - or even legal - substances in your system. And there are very few states (not none, but a few) that require an employer to provide any form of intervention. In most states, the law permits termination after a positive test. There may yet be amendments to the states that permit medical marijuana which will give an employee some protections from termination but the employment laws haven't caught up with the marijuana laws yet.
 

commentator

Senior Member
All terminations are permitted. For unemployment purposes, this is going to be an issue of whether this was "work related misconduct." As things are now, usually failing a drug test means no unemployment benefits in most cases.

The drug testing issue isn't really worked out clearly anywhere yet, because unlike alcohol and many other drugs, you can have used marijuana a while ago and not be in any way impaired on the job, yet we have persisted in drug testing for marijuana use, anywhere, anytime, and been firing and refusing to hire anyone who's smoked lately, like in the last few weeks, not necessarily just someone who was high on the job.

The issue of work related misconduct is going to have to be stretched and explored further in the states unemployment systems and in the federal system. I suspect that if they do subject this person to a drug screen and fire him as soon as he goes back to work, it would be because they were dying to get rid of him anyhow, looking for an excuse. A lot of employers realistically realize that their employees probably use marijuana off the job, and do not drug test them primarily because they do not want to fire an otherwise good and trained employee.

I've really never seen any work contract that said "I agree that while I work here I will never participate in xxxx behavior off the job, will not drink alcohol, use profanity, etc." Employers know that they can't control their employees off the job activities. And it will be interesting to see how the unemployment system will start doing decisions in these particular states related to drug testing on the job. But because it is a federal law that makes smoking marijuana illegal still, that still does not mean a person who is doing it doesn't get unemployment. Molesting children is a crime both state and federal, but if an employee molests a child off the job, and the employer fires him for it, he will still be able to be approved for unemployment, as long as he's not incarcerated, because this is not on the job or work related misconduct. Unless, of course, its a daycare he was working at...big topics, many issues.
 
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racer72

Senior Member
So, how is it that an employer can say: "you failed a random drug screen. We don't care that you have the legal right to treat your medical/psych condition with marijuana, per state law, you are fired," ?
In the case of my employer, all drug screens are mandated through a federal agency, the FAA.
 

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