Bill > S3162

This bill establishes protections for authorized medical marijuana patients against adverse employment actions, meaning employers generally cannot refuse to hire, fire, or discriminate against an employee solely because they are a registered patient or have a positive drug test for marijuana components or metabolites, unless the employer can prove that the lawful use of medical marijuana has impaired the employee's ability to perform their job duties, which can be demonstrated by specific observable symptoms of impairment while working. The bill also mandates that employers with drug testing policies must offer employees or job applicants who test positive for marijuana an opportunity to explain the result, potentially by providing a doctor's recommendation or registry identification card for medical marijuana, and allows for confirmatory retests at the employee's expense. However, these protections do not prevent employers from prohibiting the possession or use of intoxicating substances during work hours, nor do they require employers to violate federal law or risk losing federal contracts or funding.