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Drug Testing And Drug-Free Workplace Policies

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작성일 23-08-23 07:35

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On May 17, 2021, Governor Kay Ivey signed Alabama's brand-new medical cannabis law, referred to as the Darren Wesley 'Ato' Hall Compassion Act, making Alabama the 37th state to legislate cannabis for medical purposes. The law recognizes specific certifying medical conditions, consisting of but not restricted to autism spectrum disorder (ASD); cancer-related cachexia, queasiness or vomiting, weight reduction, or persistent pain; Crohn's disease; anxiety; epilepsy or a condition causing seizures; and HIV/AIDS-related queasiness or weight loss. While the law grants people with these health conditions access to medical cannabis, it offers nearly no work securities for doing so, and enforces no new responsibilities on companies.


No New Employment Protections


As more states have actually enacted medical cannabis programs, they have taken differing methods on employment protections for taking part people. Alabama's brand-new law makes it clear that, in the work context, there are no new legal securities or recourse for people who use medical cannabis. To that end, among the law's mentioned purposes is to "stabilize the requirements of companies to have a strong operating workforce with the needs of staff members who will truly take advantage of utilizing cannabis for a medical usage in a way that makes the worker an efficient worker."



The new Alabama law continues numerous essential arrangements making it clear that employers might continue to forbid cannabis usage as part of their drug-free office policies, including:



Drug Testing and Drug-Free Workplace Policies. Alabama companies are still permitted to establish and enforce drug screening and drug-free workplace policies. Employers might decline to work with, release, discipline, or otherwise take unfavorable action versus people who utilize medical cannabis, no matter whether the individual is under the impact from such usage.

Notification of Status as a Card Holder. Employers can need workers to inform the employer if the employee possesses a medical cannabis card.

Accommodations for Medical Cannabis 101 Marijuana Users. Employers are not required to permit, accommodate, or allow the usage of medical cannabis or modify task or working conditions for staff members who use medical cannabis.

Relationship to DOT and Other Federal Regulations. The law specifically states that it does not interfere with, impair or hinder any federal limitations on employment, including but not restricted to those developed pursuant to the United States Department of Transportation regulations.

No Private Right of Action. The law specifically states that it does not establish a private right of action for individuals to pursue legal action against an employer associated to any actions the company takes due to an individual's usage of medical cannabis.

Relationship to Workers' Compensation and Unemployment Benefits. The law explicitly supplies that companies can continue to get employees' settlement premium discount rates for preserving drug-free work environment policies pursuant to the Alabama employees' settlement statute. Furthermore, employers may continue to deny or develop legal defenses to the payment of workers' settlement benefits to a staff member on the basis of a favorable drug test or refusal to submit to or comply with a drug test. Finally, the law offers that an individual who is discharged from work based on their use of medical cannabis, or rejection to send to or comply with a drug test, will be "legally conclusively presumed to have actually been discharged for misconduct" for purposes of unemployment benefits if particular conditions are otherwise satisfied.


Physicians Required to Notify Patients of Employment Risks


Alabama's law needs physicians who license individuals as having certifying medical conditions to acquire the clients' written grant use medical cannabis. The physicians need to use a standardized approval type that recommends patients that "making use of medical cannabis might lead to termination from employment without option which expenses may not be covered by insurance coverage or government programs."


Managing for Compliance


While the brand-new law does not mandate specific modifications, Alabama companies ought to review their internal policies and practices relating to applicants and workers who utilize medical cannabis.



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