Marijuana is legal in Washington on Dec. 6, but the new state law gives no protection from workplace drug policies. Many employers will continue to rely on tests showing marijuana use — even from weeks ago — rather than on-the-job impairment.
Anyone with a job who plans to attend a Dec. 6 marijuana “Legalization Day” party might as well pack their employment contract along with their rolling papers.
Voters this month agreed to make marijuana legal for recreational use for adults 21 and up, but the new law gives no protection in the workplace. Show up with marijuana in your system — even residual amounts from a few weeks back — and there’s no guarantee your boss will look the other way.
In this new frontier of drug policy, employers could simply view employees’ after-hours use of marijuana like alcohol, intervening only when necessary. But few appear to be loosening bright-line drug policies, as if Initiative 502 never passed, say the region’s top employment lawyers.
On Friday, the city of Seattle joined other employers in reminding its 10,500 workers that, because it gets federal funding, and because federal law still considers marijuana a banned substance, it must maintain a drug-free workplace.
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