
Last month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), which legalized adult (21 years of age and up) use and possession of up to three ounces of marijuana (or 24 grams of concentrated marijuana). This legalization spurs questions for employers: Are they allowed to prohibit the use of marijuana? Can they discipline for the use of marijuana? Can they drug test for marijuana? We’ve got the answers.
What stays the same?
The MRTA specifically permits employers to continue prohibiting the use or possession of marijuana in the workplace, working under the influence, driving under the influence and any action endangering others.
Nothing in the MRTA prohibits an employer from taking action in response to the use of marijuana based on:
- Any reason required by state or federal law.
- An employee’s impairment (meaning there must be articulable symptoms while working that decrease or lessen the employee’s performance of the duties or tasks of their job or interfere with an employer’s obligation to provide a safe and healthy workplace).
- If the employer’s action would require the employer to commit any act that would cause the employer to be in violation of federal law or result in the loss of federal funding or a federal contract.