A positive drug test combined with documented signs of impairment might be enough for an employer to fire or reprimand a worker who is high on the job, according to guidelines released Friday by the state panel overseeing cannabis.
But a scientifically reliable test showing cannabis in the worker’s body on its own is insufficient to support adverse employment action, the guidelines say.
The Cannabis Regulatory Commission announced the new workplace regulations during its public meeting, which included approval of hundreds of conditional licenses for cultivation, manufacturing, and retail and the expansion of another medical dispensary for recreational cannabis.
Business leaders and employers have been calling on the agency to release the workplace drug testing guidelines since adult weed sales launched in April, saying it is difficult to know what action they’re able to take against employees they suspect are high on the job.
Jeff Brown, the commission’s executive director, called the guidance the “first step in moving to permanent regulations for workplace impairment recognition experts.”