A Louisiana bill offering employment protections for medical marijuana patients was barely approved May 22, but a compromise cost those patients the ability to make workers’ compensation claims. House Bill 351 will protect medical marijuana users from losing unemployment benefits due to marijuana use, but the bill’s supporters had to sacrifice their attempt to allow […]
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has new regulations updating its drug testing requirements and allowing oral fluid testing for regulated drug and alcohol programs. However, employers won’t be able to include the oral fluid tests in their testing programs until the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) certifies at least two laboratories to […]
A new law prohibiting employers from making hiring decisions based on off-duty use of marijuana will take effect in the state of Washington next year. The new law, SB 5123, is effective Jan. 1, 2024, and will also prohibit employers from making hiring decisions based on positive pre-employment drug test results finding an applicant to […]
Kentucky is the most recent state to legalize medical marijuana, with residents being able to apply for a medical marijuana card with a written medical certification starting in 2025. Governor Andy Beshear signed Senate Bill SB 47 into law on March 31, making it legal for Kentucky residents to use marijuana to treat qualified medical […]
Delaware is the latest state to legalize recreational marijuana, allowing individuals 21 years old and older to possess and recreationally use up to 1 ounce of marijuana. The law allows adults to possess and use 1 ounce or less of leaf marijuana, 12 grams or less of concentrated cannabis, or cannabis products containing 750 milligrams […]
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 […]
