By: Adam R. Young, Jennifer L. Mora, and Frederick T. Smith
Seyfarth Synopsis: President Trump’s December 2025 Executive Order signals a possible shift in federal marijuana policy, but many employers still have a lawful and legitimate basis to prohibit impairment at work. Employers that test for marijuana should continue to monitor legal developments and evolving legal risk.
Continue Reading Marijuana Rescheduling: Should Employers Update Their Drug Testing Policies and Practices?
By Adam R. Young and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: The State of Michigan’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) Cannabis – State Emphasis Program (SEP) (August 28, 2023) was established to address safety and health hazards associated with the growing, harvesting, and processing of recreational cannabis (marijuana).
Marijuana is a booming business, in Michigan and nationally. In November 2018
Continue Reading Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) Cannabis – State Emphasis Program
By Adam R. Young, Jennifer L. Mora, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: Across nationwide testing, marijuana positivity rates for 2022 reached 4.3% (up from 2.7% in 2017), with biggest gains found in states that legalized recreational marijuana.
Impairment and related safety hazards have been disrupting the workplace resulting in lost time, absenteeism, safety hazards, and serious industrial
Continue Reading High Times: Marijuana Positivity in Workplace Drug Tests Reaches 25-Year RecordBy Adam R. Young, A. Scott Hecker, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: The rate of positive drug test results among America’s workforce reached its highest rate in 2021 since 2001, and was up more than 30% in the combined U.S. workforce from an all-time low in 2010-2012, according to a new analysis released by Quest Diagnostics
Continue Reading Workforce Drug Test Positivity Climbs to Highest Level in Two Decades
Seyfarth Synopsis: Effective January 1, 2022, most Philadelphia employers will be prohibited from requiring prospective employees to undergo testing for the presence of marijuana as a condition of employment.
Currently, only New York City and Nevada have similar drug testing restrictions, but we expect this trend to continue. Nevada prohibits employers from taking adverse action
Continue Reading Philadelphia’s Restrictions on Pre-Employment Marijuana Tests Become Effective January 1, 2022
By Adam R. Young, Robert T. Szyba, Robert S. Whitman, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: The New York Department of Labor published “Frequently Asked Questions” which address occupational cannabis issues under the adult-use cannabis and the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA).
New York State has legalized medical and recreational marijuana, and
Continue Reading New York Department of Labor Attempts to Prohibit Drug Testing for Cannabis, Employment Actions Against Some Employees Who are Impaired at Work
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Seyfarth Synopsis: As previously reported here, on February 22, 2021, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed A21, the “New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act” (CREAMMA), which is enabling legislation for the amendment to the New Jersey Constitution making lawful the recreational use of marijuana in the state.
While the new
By Eric Janson and Adam R. Young
Seyfarth Synopsis: While the votes continue to be tallied in the Presidential election, one thing is certain – it was a BIG night for cannabis in America with five new states approving ballot measures to legalize recreational or medical marijuana.
With these new laws, nearly 110 million Americans (or over 1/3 of
Continue Reading And the Winner of the 2020 Election Is…Marijuana!
By Jennifer L. Mora and Adam R. Young
Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers considering a tolerant attitude towards recreational cannabis in the workplace should consider safety hazards and legal liabilities.
In the heyday of the two-martini lunch, employers regularly tolerated alcohol in the workplace or employees presumably impaired by alcohol returning to work. Over the succeeding decades, employers began to concentrate
Continue Reading Weed at Work: Should Employers Expand “Alcohol at Work” to Cover Recreational Cannabis?
By Condon McGlothlen, Adam R. Young, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Illinois General Assembly passed SB 1557, revising the language of the Recreational Cannabis Law to reduce but not completely eliminate employer liabilities.
As we previously blogged, the Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (410 ILCS 705) (the “Legalization Act”) will legalize recreational cannabis
Continue Reading Illinois General Assembly Passes Amendments to Recreational Cannabis Law That Help Reduce Employer Liability