Do employees have the right to use medicinal marijuana while not on the job and not get fired for doing so? A Michigan man thinks they do and filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart last week to prove it. He argues that the retail giant wrongfully fired him for using medical marijuana (legal in Michigan) to treat the pain of an inoperable brain tumor and cancer. Similar lawsuits in California, Montana, Oregon and Washington state have been filed with the courts generally siding with employers, holding that they have no obligation to accommodate medical marijuana users since using or possessing pot remains illegal under federal law.
But the Michigan case could be very different. That's because the state's medical marijuana statute specifically includes language designed to shield employees from adverse employment actions connected to the use of medical marijuana. The laws in the other states where employees have challenged their medical marijuana use as the basis of their termination do not offer similar protections.
The Michigan employee also makes for a very sympathetic plaintiff. Joseph Casias, 30, manages the Battle Creek, Michigan store and was the 2008 Associate of the Year. He was fired after testing positive for marijuana, even though he was registered to use it under Michigan's medical marijuana statute. According to Casias, he never smoked pot at work nor did he come to work stoned. Instead, Casias used marijuana in his off-hours to manage the sever pain associated with his brain tumor and cancer.
But that use collided squarely withe Wal-Mart's no-drug in the workplace policy. Casias showed the retailer his state medical marijuana card but the company refused to recognize it when it fired him. Wal-Mart's official position has been to express sympathy toward Casias' condition but feels like his use places the safety of its customers and associates at risk. According to a released statement, whether or not the drug was prescribed by a doctor is irrelevant- it has a zero-use, zero-tolerance policy and intends to abide by it.
Perhaps the retailer could sense how insensitive and misinformed its approach really is, because the statement also called on local lawmakers to create clearer legal standards for employers on how to manage a sensible workplace drug use policy as more states adopt medicinal marijuana laws while the drug remains illegal at the federal level. And while I'd like to offer this up as an example as to why we should cut Wal-Mart some slack here, it is hard to get much clearer than statutorily prohibiting employers from firing employees for lawful medicinal marijuana use.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Care2.com
Author: Jessica Pieklo
Contact: Care2.com
Copyright: 2010 Care2.com, inc.
Website: Medical Marijuana and the Workplace: Wal-Mart Suit Tests Some Limits
But the Michigan case could be very different. That's because the state's medical marijuana statute specifically includes language designed to shield employees from adverse employment actions connected to the use of medical marijuana. The laws in the other states where employees have challenged their medical marijuana use as the basis of their termination do not offer similar protections.
The Michigan employee also makes for a very sympathetic plaintiff. Joseph Casias, 30, manages the Battle Creek, Michigan store and was the 2008 Associate of the Year. He was fired after testing positive for marijuana, even though he was registered to use it under Michigan's medical marijuana statute. According to Casias, he never smoked pot at work nor did he come to work stoned. Instead, Casias used marijuana in his off-hours to manage the sever pain associated with his brain tumor and cancer.
But that use collided squarely withe Wal-Mart's no-drug in the workplace policy. Casias showed the retailer his state medical marijuana card but the company refused to recognize it when it fired him. Wal-Mart's official position has been to express sympathy toward Casias' condition but feels like his use places the safety of its customers and associates at risk. According to a released statement, whether or not the drug was prescribed by a doctor is irrelevant- it has a zero-use, zero-tolerance policy and intends to abide by it.
Perhaps the retailer could sense how insensitive and misinformed its approach really is, because the statement also called on local lawmakers to create clearer legal standards for employers on how to manage a sensible workplace drug use policy as more states adopt medicinal marijuana laws while the drug remains illegal at the federal level. And while I'd like to offer this up as an example as to why we should cut Wal-Mart some slack here, it is hard to get much clearer than statutorily prohibiting employers from firing employees for lawful medicinal marijuana use.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Care2.com
Author: Jessica Pieklo
Contact: Care2.com
Copyright: 2010 Care2.com, inc.
Website: Medical Marijuana and the Workplace: Wal-Mart Suit Tests Some Limits
