Employee Background Checks and the New Medical Marijuana Laws

Before long, one of the background checks that will be part of the pre-employment screening program, at least in some states, is to see if your job candidate has a valid card to use medical marijuana.   We may be a long way from this becoming a requisite background check, but then again, maybe not.

According to Freep.com, a lawsuit may reach the Michigan Court of Appeals that may determine precedent for consideration of medical marijuana in the workplace.  A Wal-Mart employee  who was legally eligible to use marijuana filed a lawsuit against his employer, or I should say former employer, after he was fired because his drug test was a positive for marijuana.  Wal-Mart attests that it has zero policy for drugs and that anyone with positive results in their drug test will be dismissed.

The law in general is hazy.  This holds true not just for Michigan but in other states that have adapted medical marijuana usage.  While some states may indicate the pot user is not entitled to imbibe the drug on the job, the issues remains as to whether the employee can come to work stoned.   In related instances, the Michigan Depart of Civil Rights has cases on file where the job applicants complained that once they declared they were medical marijuana users the prospective employers would not hire them.   In these cases, the employment candidates had no other blemishes that would show up on their background checks.

There are issues on both sides of this very controversial concern.   On one hand, why can an employee who has been legally been sanctioned by the state to imbibe medical marijuana be fired for something that is legal?  On the other hand, doesn’t an inebriated person, be it drugs or alcohol, pose a potential danger to himself and fellow workers while on the job?   Tough call.   I have written on this blog about medical marijuana in the workplace a number of times.  One such article is entitled,  Marijuana Laws and the Workplace–the Ongoing Saga.

In all, there are some 20,000 medical marijuana users in Michigan alone.  Presumably, most need a job.   Like the rest of us, they need to put a roof over their heads, and they need to eat.  I would think they have to eat even more, as even medical marijuana probably gives them the munchies.   In any case, perhaps the Michigan Court of Appeals can establish a precedent to help resolve this issue.  Or, do we stay tuned for yet another episode regarding marijuana in the workplace?  We shall stay posted.