HR POLICY
If you don ’ t allow medical cannabis , you may choose to amp up enforcement of the policy with employee drug tests ( if you ’ re not already conducting them ). If cannabis is detected , you can discipline or fire the employee , even if they have a prescription . “ And even if work performance is not affected ,” said Zwilling . Remember , in your business , your rules apply . And your policies and your actions to enforce them are not subject to court scrutiny . “ The Alabama law explicitly states there is no private right of action for employees to sue an employer for discipline or loss of job as a result of using medical cannabis , even if obtained legally ,” she said . “ There are no employment protections or recourse for medical cannabis users .” Zwilling did point to one possible issue : “ There could be indirect issues with ADA protections if an employer uses a positive test for cannabis as a pretext for terminating an individual with a disability .”
Doctors prescribing medical cannabis bear some of the burden regarding workplace issues . Physicians are required under the law to advise patients that the use of medical cannabis could result in termination from employment without recourse and that costs may not be covered by insurance or government programs .
HR POLICY
Chewing on all the pros and cons and settling on what ’ s best for your business is the hard part ; once a decision is made , the other key step is to apply the rule to everyone , all the time . “ Whatever a business owner decides , they have to be consistent and require that every employee follows the policy — and those who don ’ t face the consistent consequences — to avoid inviting discrimination claims ,” said Zwilling .
38 CentrAL Inc !