HR Tip of the Month: Getting into the Weed(s) with Medical Marijuana in New Jersey

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In 2010, New Jersey passed the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (“NJCUMMA”) which protects the users of medical marijuana “from arrest, prosecution, property forfeiture, and criminal and other penalties.” The law specifically provides that employers are not required to “accommodate the medical use of marijuana in . . . [the] workplace,” but is silent about an employer’s duty to accommodate medical marijuana use outside the workplace. While the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination requires an employer make reasonable accommodations to a disabled employee who can perform the essential functions of the job, the law is hazy when it comes to whether those reasonable accommodations include allowing an employee to use medical marijuana outside of the workplace. This dilemma can present some sticky situations for employers. For example, what is required of an employer who maintains a zero tolerance drug policy, but is confronted with an employee who tests positive for marijuana because of their underlying disability? Given this budding area of the law; for now these situations should be addressed on a case by case basis taking into account the employee’s job description, the underlying disability, the circumstances prompting the drug screen, etc.