Are company drivers impaired by legal drugs?
Law enforcement officials say driving under the influence of legal drugs is an increasing problem.
Marijuana
Arm crushed: Will positive test for pot preclude comp benefits?
This worker’s supervisor mistakenly hit a button that started a machine and crushed the employee’s arm. The worker’s post-injury drug test was positive for pot, a violation of company policy. Will the employee get workers’ compensation benefits?
Bizarre accident: Chopper causes tree to fall, killing worker
OSHA has issued several citations to the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest in Oregon in connection with an incident in which an employee was killed by a falling tree.
California Chamber: Pot law would hurt workplace safety
Business groups are lining up against a measure that would legalize marijuana in California.
Can employees be denied workers’ comp if they’re drunk/high when injured?
An effort has stalled in one state to clear up conflicting portions of its workers’ comp law about drunk/drugged employees who are injured. This raises the question: Can impaired employees get comp benefits when they’re injured?
Can Mike hire a prospective employee who uses medical marijuana?
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Can pot-using worker be fired in medical marijuana state?
Fact: 16 states and Washington, DC, have laws that allow the medical use of marijuana for patients with fatal diseases or chronic pain. What’s not as clear: How these laws impact workplace drug policies. Now, another state court has weighed in.
Case of the pot-smoking worker mauled by bear: Part 2
Last year we told you the story of an employee who was mauled by a grizzly in a bear park after having smoked pot. The employee received workers’ comp. The employer appealed to the state’s highest court, which has issued a ruling.
Court says workers’ comp covers medical marijuana
Marijuana is still illegal under federal law. But a state court has told an employer and an insurance company to cover an injured worker’s medical marijuana.
Court: Companies can fire employees who use medical marijuana
Slowly, more courts are dealing with the issues involving medical or recreational marijuana and the workplace. The most recent ruling can be seen as a win for employers.
Court: Employer must reimburse injured worker for medical weed
A New Jersey employer must reimburse an injured worker for medical marijuana, according to an appeals court decision.
Court: Injured worker can’t get reimbursed for medical weed
An injured worker’s doctor replaced his opioid prescription with medical marijuana. Why did a court rule that the worker can’t be reimbursed for medical weed? John Nobles-Roark suffered a lumbar injury at work. His workers’ comp claim was accepted, and he had surgery for the condition. He was able to return to work, but his […]
Court: Positive weed test doesn’t automatically mean person is intoxicated
An appeals court recently found a worker who tested positive for marijuana in a post-incident drug test was eligible for workers’ compensation benefits despite the positive test results.
Court: Reimbursement for weed doesn’t violate law
A workers’ compensation insurer is not committing a federal crime under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) when reimbursing a medical weed user for purchase of the drug, according to the Supreme Court of New Hampshire. Reimbursing a medical marijuana user for the drug in a work-related injury case is not impossible under the CSA nor […]
Court: Use of medical marijuana is not a disability
A Pennsylvania judge ruled Nov. 10 that an employee’s off-duty use of medical marijuana doesn’t qualify as a “disability” under the state’s Human Relations Act (PHRA). Pamela Palmiter, a certified medical marijuana user, worked at Moses Taylor Hospital and was fired in January 2019 after a positive drug test for marijuana. Palmiter filed two lawsuits […]
DEA: Marijuana retains Schedule I classification
In denying a petition to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) cited workplace safety as a factor in its decision.
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