Washington State will provide soon measures protecting employees from drug testing for marijuana in pre-employment situations.
Governor Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5132 on May 9. Jay Inslee has signed Senate Bill 5132, which provides broad protections to employees who use cannabis and limits the employment drug tests for marijuana.
The bill will take effect on January 1, 2024. Employers are required to prepare for compliance by that date. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines and chairperson of the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee, sponsored the bill.
According to the proposed bill, “it is illegal for an employer discriminate against someone in their initial hiring process if that discrimination is due to: (a). The person’s use of marijuana off-the-job and away from work; (b). An employer-required test for drug testing which found non-psychoactive cannabis-metabolites present in hair, urine, blood or any other body fluids.”
Washington has legalized sales of adult-use marijuana in 2012 with i502. Washington lawmakers worked on a law that would bridge the hiring gap with current laws during the 2022-2023 session.
SB 5132 exempts jobs which require federal background checks or clearances, such as those in the law enforcement sector, fire departments, first responders and corrections officers; or positions in the aviation or aerospace industry or safety-sensitive roles.
Why drug testing for cannabis doesn’t work
The Report states cannabis metabolites are detectable for up to 30 or more days after the impairment. According to the University of Sydney, cognitive impairment lasts only three to ten hours. These researchers concluded that cannabis drug tests are likely a poor way to determine impairment.
stated that NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano. This discriminatory practice was a hangover of the 1980s “war on drugs”. The times, attitudes, and marijuana laws in some places have all changed. “It is now time to adjust workplace policies and stop punishing workers for their activities during off-hours, which do not pose a workplace safety risk.”
Armentano said, “Those that consume alcohol responsibly and legally while they are away from work do not face sanctions from employers unless it adversely affects their performance at their job.” Cannabis users who are legally in possession of the drug should also be subject to the same standard.
Nevada passed a law in 2019 that prohibits employers from testing employees for marijuana. California, Connecticut and Montana have all enacted laws that limit employers’ abilities to test employees for THC, or sanction them for using cannabis off-the-job. Atlanta, Baltimore and Philadelphia approved local bills that limit the ability of employers to screen job candidates for cannabis usage.
Cannabis wears off in a few hours. Numerous studies show that employees who consume cannabis off the clock perform no differently than their non-cannabis-consuming peers.
SB 5132 provides protection for employers who review their policies and update them to comply with it. The employers must eliminate any cannabis pre-employment drug tests that require the testing or reporting of non-psychoactive marijuana metabolites. They also need to ensure their policies outline clearly what situations are exempt from drug testing such as after an accident or suspicion.
New York also issued guidelines. New York State Department of Labor will release new guidelines in October 2021 regarding the legalized use of recreational marijuana and workplace, including new worker protections. In the new guidance, it is made clear that employers should tolerate cannabis usage outside of work hours in many situations. The new guidance defines pre-employment cannabis drug tests as discrimination.
The original post High Times was Washington governor signs bill to protect employees from drug testing for THC.
