Workplace Cannabis Policy

Norhan Mansour is the cop at the center of the commission’s decision. According to court documents, she was chosen for a random drug test on Sept. 20, 2022, that turned up positive for cannabis (this was five months after the state’s recreational cannabis market opened). During a disciplinary hearing in November, she conceded that she had ingested cannabis gummies the night before the test, and afterward she was fired, the documents show.

State Attorney General Matthew Platkin issued guidelines that allow law enforcement officers to use recreational cannabis while off duty as long as it doesn’t hurt on-the-job performance. But first responders are still not clear on the details.

“There’s so many uncertainties now that we still don’t have answers to,” said Steve McConlogue, who heads the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey. He advises that nobody should come to work impaired by any substance.

An administrative law judge has ruled that Jersey City should reinstate a police officer fired after testing positive for cannabis, rejecting the city’s argument that federal statutes trump protections in state law.

Jersey City terminated the officer, Norhan Mansour, in April for violating the police department’s drug policy which prohibited the use of cannabis by officers both on and off the job.

“It’s very hazy, it’s very ambiguous,” says employment attorney Marissa Mastroianni. “I think a lot of employers are deciding to take a hands-off approach until more specific guidance/regulations come out from the state. And the employers who do decide to take action now really need to be buttoned up with their procedure.”

he New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ-CRC) announced the workplace guidelines during a meeting on Friday, joining several other states that have implemented specific protections for people who use marijuana in compliance with state law.

The commission is set to meet for its monthly meeting Thursday, where it will discuss an array of topics, including making curbside pickup and home delivery permanent, bringing down the cost of medical marijuana cards, and approving another 81 cannabis licenses.

But notably missing from the agenda are two long-awaited topics: workplace regulations for employers who suspect a worker is high on the job, and the approval of edibles like brownies, cookies, and chocolate bars.

The law requires that a drug test include both a “physical evaluation” and “scientifically reliable objective testing methods and procedures, such as testing of blood, urine, or saliva.” The “physical evaluation” must be conducted by an individual certified to provide an opinion about an employee’s state of impairment, or lack of impairment, related to the use of marijuana.

Notably, the new rules also confirm that the Commission has not yet adopted standards for a Workplace Impairment Recognition Expert (WIRE) certification program, and until such time that the Commission develops such standards, in consultation with the Police Training Commission, no physical evaluation of an employee being drug tested in accordance with CREAMMA shall be required. We anticipate that the testing requirements will be addressed in subsequent regulations.

Permitted Workplace Rules

Under the new law an employer may still:

• Maintain “a drug- and alcohol-free workplace;”
• Prohibit “the possession, transfer, display, transportation, sale and growth” of cannabis “in the workplace;” and
• Promulgate a policy that employees shall not use cannabis or be intoxicated “during work hours.”

Cannabis Detection

On March 10, 2021, less than three weeks after New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation legalizing recreational marijuana and establishing employee protections for off duty marijuana use, a State lawmaker has introduced a bill (NJ S 3525) to amend the employment related provisions of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (“NJCREAMMA”) to address concerns that employers will not be able to control marijuana use, or the effects of marijuana use, in the workplace for safety sensitive positions.