This week, Maryland Senate and House of Delegates committees heard testimony on legislation to protect workers who use marijuana off-duty from being penalized. If the bill is passed, employers will have to prove that a worker was impaired on the job before they can fire them or take any other adverse action.
The proposed legislation would also prohibit companies from discriminating people who have prior convictions relating to cannabis distribution.
The Senate Finance Committee met on Thursday to hear SB513 from Sen. Alonzo Washing (D). The House Economic Matters Committee heard testimony a day later on a companion measure with almost identical language — HB525 from Del. Jheanelle Wilkins (D).
The committees heard hours of testimony by the sponsors, public commentators, and stakeholders.
Washington, who sponsored the Senate measure, stated that the proposal “seeks” to protect Maryland workers from negative employment consequences because of their lawful marijuana use.
He told the panel that the bill was designed to end employment discrimination based on illegal substances used by employees who do not affect productivity. It prohibits hiring discrimination against people with prior convictions for marijuana distribution, and firing workers who test positive but can still perform their duties.
Supporters of the bill in Maryland have also framed it as common sense. They noted that cannabis was legalized there last year. The majority of firefighter associations have endorsed the bill. They argue that their members should not be punished for using marijuana in their free time.
Some business leaders have argued that this change will make it more difficult to identify and react to workers who are impaired.
At the Friday hearing of the House committee, Del. Jesse Pippy, a Republican, said that he was “shocked and taken aback” by the fact that firefighters would support this policy change.
He told firefighter associations that spoke in favor of the bill, “There may be a scenario where a first responder is under the influence of marijuana and responsible for keeping our communities safe.” You know, being a police officer or a first responder comes with a lot of responsibility. “Like I said, I am a bit shocked that you guys are here to support the bill.”
Wilkins, who is the sponsor of this bill in the House, said that the main objective of the proposal is to better assess a person’s impairment at work.
She told Pippy, “That’s the exact purpose of the bill is what you are outlining.”
Wilkins added, “We’re protecting our firefighters and workers on their own time as long as they are not impaired at work.” “That is the purpose of the law, to protect this ability and our workers.”
Critics said that they are not confident in the ability to accurately assess an individual’s impairment, which would allow them to easily discipline workers who show up at work while under the influences.
Pippy explained, “Alcohol is a good example. You can usually tell if someone is under the influences of alcohol at any given moment.” “With cannabis, you cannot.”
John Gardell is a captain of a Pittsburgh fire department. He testified on behalf of International Association of Firefighters (IAF), which has more than 300,000.
Gardell stated that in May 2018, Pittsburgh allowed firefighters to use medical cannabis to treat a variety of conditions. This policy brought with it many of the concerns you heard or will today, more specifically how an employer will deal with an employee who has been found unfit for duty due to cannabis use.
He said: “Our experience in the past five years has shown us that employees can still benefit from cannabis use while being protected if we follow the same policies we’ve used with prescription medication.” As with all substances, the supervisor in charge of the first line is responsible for determining whether an employee is fit to work. “Since the implementation of our cannabis policy five years ago, there has not been a single incident within the Bureau of Fire in the City of Pittsburgh.”
Gardell added, “Cannabis still suffers from an unfortunate stigma.” “Don’t let this stigma prevent those who can benefit most from cannabis.”
The panel heard from dozens of witnesses over the two hearings. These included state officials, business groups, unions, labor groups, policy groups and more.
NaShona KESS, Executive Director of the Maryland NAACP called the bill “vital for the communities of color and working class who have suffered unfair employment practices for nonviolent drugs like cannabis, especially.”
“House Bill 535” is not just about employment rights. She said it’s about racial justice and economic justice. It aims to ensure that cannabis users are treated fairly in the workplace and removes barriers for marginalized groups.
Cleveland Horton is the deputy director of the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. This is a government agency in Maryland.
Horton stated that the purpose of the bill was to create more consistency in terms of the creation and application policies relating to cannabis at work. We’ve seen inconsistent policies in the workplace, but we hope that House Bill 535 will bring more consistency.
We also hope that by using House Bill 535, we can begin to eliminate the stigma attached to cannabis. He added, “We know that society has evolved. Now we have legalized recreational cannabis use.” “We think that our policies, and our employment policies should also evolve on that front.”
On Thursday, Senators heard from advocates for cannabis reform at NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) and Marijuana Policy Project.
Paul Armentano, NORML’s Deputy Director said that the legislation does not compromise workplace safety. “Changes to the legal status of marijuana in each state do not negatively impact workplace safety or performance. Studies consistently show that cannabis-using employees perform the same as their peers who do not use it. A thorough review by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences concluded, and I’m quoting, ‘There are no statistically significant links between cannabis and workplace accidents or injuries. ‘”
Armentano noted that the bill does not prohibit employers from testing employees for impairment.
He said that employers would be free to use performance-testing technologies like AlertMeter and Druid at the workplace. This technology, unlike blood or urinalysis tests, measures employees’ cognitive impairment against their personal baseline. It is therefore a more accurate way to determine if someone is impaired at work. In contrast, urine tests only identify active metabolites which can be detected for weeks or months after cannabis use has stopped.
Olivia Naugle is the senior policy analyst for MPP. She said that testing for cannabis can result in “completely sober and capable workers losing their job or not being employed for having used marijuana–which in Maryland is a legal drug–days, or even weeks before.”
She said that other states which have legalized adult cannabis are taking more steps to protect workers from losing their jobs if they use cannabis after working hours.
The legalization of marijuana has prompted a national discussion on cannabis-related employment policies.
Marijuana Moment tracks more than 1,000 cannabis and drug policy bills that have been introduced in state legislatures, and Congress. Patreon supporters who pledge at least $25/month gain access to our interactive charts, maps and hearing calendar.
Discover more about our marijuana bills tracker. Become a Patreon supporter to gain access.
—
In Ohio, marijuana was legalized last year. For example, Cleveland Mayor Justin M. Bibb announced that his city “modernized” their drug testing policies for candidates for city jobs. This included eliminating “antiquated terminology around pre-employment cannabis testing that previously hindered hiring attempts.”
In California, recently, two pieces of legislation that were signed into law by 2022 and 2023 came into effect. These laws prohibit employers from asking applicants about their cannabis use in the past and forbid employers to penalize workers who use marijuana lawfully while on leave.
This year, a new Washington State law was passed that prohibits pre-employment marijuana drug tests but allows employers to terminate workers if they test positive for the drug after being hired.
In Washington, D.C., in July, a new law came into effect that prohibits employers from firing employees or punishing them for using marijuana outside of work hours.
Michigan officials approved changes in the state’s Employment Policy during the summer. This means that applicants for most government positions will no longer have to undergo pre-employment drug tests for marijuana.
New York offers greater protections in the workplace for adults who use cannabis legally during non-working hours and away from their jobs.
Job Corps, a national program of job training for youth, has also updated its drug-screening policy for new arrivals to try to prevent the use of drugs during the program, but without penalizing the participants for previous use.
A legal battle is also taking place in Jersey City, New Jersey over drug testing of public safety workers. City officials claim that new policies allowing police officers to use marijuana off duty may force Jersey City into violating federal law by providing firearms and ammo. A local police union called the claim of the city “pure hogwash.”
Scientists recently announced that they have found a way to test recent marijuana use which is significantly more accurate than the standard THC blood tests, which can sometimes misrepresent an individual’s potential impairment based on how often they use cannabis. Scientists are now working on expanding the study to include more data.
Last month, a Justice Department researcher suggested that states should “get away” from the idea that marijuana impairment could be measured based on THC concentration in a person’s system. He questioned the effectiveness of DUI laws per se.
She said that there may not be a way to determine impairment due to THC, like we do with alcohol.
Congresswoman: Marijuana Rescheduling Could Delay Full Federal Legalization ‘By Another 50 Years’
Photo by Mike Latimer.
The article Maryland Lawmakers Debate Bills to Protect Marijuana Users From Workplace Discrimination first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
