Employers, and in particular human
resources departments, have come to
realize that most, if not all, the tools
necessary to address the legalization of
cannabis are already in their HR pol-icy
tool box. All workplaces have (or
should have) policies in place which
address alcohol use in the workplace,
as well as disclosure obligations for
prescription and over-the-counter med-ication
use. Therefore, whether the use
of cannabis and cannabis products by
employees is recreational or for medi-cal
purposes with authorization from
a healthcare professional, long-existing
practices dealing with impairment in
the workplace have not changed and are
equally applicable.
After the immediate concern over what
to do if a group of employees suddenly
decides to share a joint (if that is still a
thing) during a smoke break or determin-ing
if and how employees could be legally
tested and screened (even though their
workplace has never even had a breath-alyzer
onsite, let alone anyone trained to
use it or take samples), many have come to
realize that this change in law has provided
them with the opportunity to sharpen
existing policies, train and re-communicate
expectations for conduct, fitness and per-formance
to their employees.
The first misconception that must be
set straight by human resources is that
the legalization of recreational marijuana
has not given employees the right to freely
possess or use marijuana in the workplace.
Employers continue to have the right to
control their workplace and can prohibit
the storage of marijuana in an employee’s
locker in the same way that they pro-hibit
an employee from keeping liquor in
their locker.
Legalization of recreational marijuana
has most certainly not permitted nor pro-vided
a valid excuse for employees to be or
attend at work impaired. Even in circum-stances
of demonstrated and disclosed
medical authorization to use or possess
cannabis, employers are still entitled to
determine if such valid medicinal use, and
the associated risk of potential impairment
while on the job, can be accommodated.
When considering accommodation, the
perspectives
OVERALL, EMPLOYERS HAVE
OVERCOME THE ANXIETY OF THE
UNKNOWN THAT ACCOMPANIES SUCH
A DRAMATIC LEGAL CHANGE.
parilovv / 123RF
48 ❚ CONFERENCE ISSUE 2019 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL
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