With drug use and overdose deaths skyrocketing in the U.S. over the past few years and confusion over state laws and legalized marijuana, what can employers do to ensure there’s no impairment at work? In 2022, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported “there were an estimated 107,622 drug overdose deaths in […]
A Pennsylvania appeals court found that injured employees could be reimbursed for medical marijuana that was deemed necessary by a physician. In the March 17, 2023, decision in Teresa L. Fegley, Executrix to the Estate of Paul Sheetz v. Firestone Tire & Rubber, the appeals court determined that an injured worker was entitled to reimbursement for medical […]
New research reveals that work-related injuries accounted for more opioid prescriptions from 2010 to 2019 than other injury-related health conditions. A study conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) shows that during the period covered, nearly 28% of all opioid prescriptions were for work-related injuries. However, only 22% of reported injuries […]
A new report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reveals that alcohol and cannabis are the top two most often detected drugs in impaired driving incidents. Alcohol remains the most often detected drug, with cannabis coming in second. Researchers also found that while alcohol is most often detected alone, cannabis was most often detected […]
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) released annual survey results revealing that there are mental health and substance use epidemics currently occurring in the U.S. DHHS’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s annual survey results show that: about one in four adults in the U.S. had a mental illness in 2021, […]
An amendment to Missouri law decriminalizing the purchase, possession and use of recreational marijuana went into effect Dec. 8. This amendment could cause some headaches for employers. Missouri voters passed Constitutional Amendment 3 on Election Day 2022, which decriminalized marijuana for recreational and personal purposes, according to law firm Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice. The […]
On Jan. 6, 2023, employers operating under Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations can conduct part of the employee safety performance history investigation in the FMCSA Clearinghouse. The safety performance history investigation, which provides information on a driver’s past drug and alcohol violations, is required for all driver-applicants and each CDL driver employed by […]
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear signed an executive order Nov. 15 protecting residents in the state from prosecution for medical marijuana use. The executive order is meant to protect residents who legally purchase medical marijuana in another state to treat chronic pain from various medical conditions or post-traumatic stress disorder. State won’t legalize despite residents’ desires […]
With President Biden’s Oct. 6 statements about marijuana and his request to review whether the drug should be removed from the Schedule I list of controlled substances, is federal legalization far off? If federal legalization of marijuana is in the cards for the near future, then what does it mean for employers? After all, many […]
