Cannabis Use – Employer and Employee Rights

Category: Materials

Member Price: $16

Non-Member Price: $20

Product Code: MI149424

Areas of Law: Cannabis, Labor & Employment

CLE Credits
Faculty

Keynote

Moderator

Marla J. Moss, Esq.
Moss Mediation, Florham Park

Presenters

Tracy A. Armstrong, Esq.
Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer P.A., Woodbridge
Claudia A. Reis, Esq.
Lenzo & Reis, LLC, Morristown

The decriminalization and legalization of recreational cannabis use has set up battle lines in New Jersey workplaces between employers’ need to maintain workplace safety and productivity and employees’ rights to engage in lawful off-the-clock activity. Each side has reasonable goals and interests and yet resolution of workplace disputes arising from cannabis issues are difficult, if not impossible, because available drug tests cannot distinguish between current usage and usage that has occurred days or even weeks ago, and there is no scientifically reliable means of ascertaining whether anyone is currently impaired by cannabis use. While the legislature has approved the use of Workplace Impairment Recognition Experts (WIREs), little guidance has been provided in terms of what qualifications, standards, tools, or guidelines they will use to make determinations about current impairment, or those determinations can and will be challenged. To make matters worse, employers who take adverse actions against employees for cannabis use run the risk of also running afoul of the Law Against Discrimination’s requirement that employers reasonably accommodate disabled employees’ use of cannabis under a doctor’s guidance consistent with the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. 

While there is little available case law addressing these issues, the body of law is certain to grow as employers begin to face difficult decisions and employees experience adverse employment actions for lawful off-the-clock conduct or, worse, following doctors’ orders.

Our esteemed panel of employment practitioners from both sides of the bar will describe the developing regulatory framework and discuss measures that can be implemented to minimize the risk to employers and employees alike. 

Our valuable and compelling subject matter will include:

  • The employment-related provisions of New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act (“CREAMMA”), including, but not limited to, when and under what circumstances employers can drug test potential and actual employees as well as what actions employers can take as the result of positive drug test results;
  • The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission Guidance on “Workplace Impairment”;
  • The science of cannabis metabolization and how it is different from other intoxicating and psychoactive substances such as alcohol;
  • Available testing methods for cannabis and their limitations;
  • The difficulties of determining impairment;
  • The manner in which adverse actions related to cannabis use can run afoul of employees’ privacy interests and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination;
  • The state of the WIRE certification process; and
  • Commonsense approaches to successfully dealing with difficult and often very subjective workplace impairment issues.

About


Founded in 1899, the NJSBA is the largest organization of attorneys, judges and legal professionals in New Jersey. At the core of our mission is improving the lives of our members, advancing the rule of law and serving as the voice of the profession. With 85 sections and committees, the NJSBA allows attorneys to benefit from being part of the most wide-reaching legal association in the state, while still cultivating expertise and building networks within specialized practice areas.

MORE ABOUT NJSBA

Diversity


The New Jersey State Bar Association is committed to promoting and fostering a diverse and inclusive bar association. The Association recognizes that the broad concept of diversity includes race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, age and disability. The NJSBA fosters and promotes an inclusive environment that gives value to the unique contributions of diverse individuals and organizations in all aspects of the Association.

Learn More

Advocacy


The NJSBA Legal and  Government Affairs Department serves as the liaison between NJSBA members and the state’s three branches of government.

News and Press Publications


Learn more about the accomplishments of the Association, its members and events from regular news updates, press releases, and our award-winning magazine.


 

Reports


Read the comments, reports, resolutions and Board of Trustee news from the state’s largest organization of lawyers, judges and legal professionals.


 

Statements and Positions


The NJSBA is the voice of the profession and takes public positions on a range of issues with the legal community and government officials. It also takes positions on legislation and files friend-of-the-court briefs on matters that impact the profession. 

Photo Galleries


Check out photos from recent NJSBA events.

View Photo Albums

Directions

The New Jersey Law Center is located at 1 Constitution Sq, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901. Need directions to the Law Center? Click on the button below to get started right away.

Contact NJSBA

NJSBA Contact Us Form
If you're looking for an attorney, click here for help.

If you cannot afford an attorney and have a civil matter, click here for Legal Services of New Jersey.

Looking for information about a specific lawyer? Contact the Lawyer’s Fund for Client Protection at 855-533-3863.

Have a complaint about a lawyer? Visit the Office of Attorney Ethics website. Select “Attorney Discipline” from the navigation bar for discipline of attorneys.

Contact Info

One Constitution Square
New Brunswick, NJ 08901

732-249-5000
9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday - Friday

Fax 732-249-2815

Email us

Book Store


Authoritative. Comprehensive. The Industry Standard.

NJICLE legal treatises and books are written for New Jersey attorneys, by New Jersey attorneys. Our comprehensive library of books and treatises form the State’s most inclusive series of regionally focused legal materials. With titles covering virtually every aspect of New Jersey legislation, NJICLE is proud to be the professional development resource for the legal community.

You do not have permission to view this form.