A fired worker is testing New Jersey’s state’s cannabis law by suing his former employer, alleging he was wrongfully terminated for marijuana use days after the state legalized the drug.
New Jersey’s top court ruled last year that employers cannot fire medical marijuana patients who use cannabis in their free time. The new marijuana legalization law will extend these protections to those 21 and older, but whether or not that provision applies to workers now has been debated.
Paul Myers, 53, filed the lawsuit in state Superior Court in Burlington County last month. He alleges National DCP, a supply chain company that services Dunkin’ Donuts franchises, broke the law when firing him from its Westampton facility earlier this year.
Myers was hired at the facility in 2019. He has Crohn’s disease and also underwent treatment for cancer shortly after he began the job, according to the complaint. The procedures required him to take extended medical leave, as did his Crohn’s symptoms. He encountered hostility from his employer, the suit alleges, as his need for time off was questioned.
To deal with his ongoing symptoms, Myers’s doctor suggested he use medical cannabis. He began took the advice and was in the process of securing authorization to join the state’s medical marijuana program, according to the complaint.
By Amanda Hoover | NJ Advance Media For NJ.com
