Accommodating Medical Marijuana Patients in the Workplace
Video Transcribed: What do employers need to know regarding the use of medical marijuana? I’m Ope Adegbuyi, a medical marijuana business law attorney in Tulsa.
Since the legalization of medical marijuana in Oklahoma in 2018, many employers have been grappling with how to handle medical marijuana use by employees. While medical marijuana is legal in Oklahoma, it still remains illegal under federal law. This has created some legal gray areas when it comes to employment and drug testing.
Here’s what employers need to know. Number one would be employee protection. Under Oklahoma law, employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees or applicants based on their status as medical marijuana patients. This means that employers cannot refuse to hire or fire an employee solely because they are a registered medical marijuana user.
Number two would be drug testing. Oklahoma law has not prohibited employers from drug testing employees for medical marijuana use. However, if an employee tests positive for marijuana, the employer must consider whether the employee is a registered medical marijuana patient and whether they are using medical marijuana for or using marijuana for medical purposes.
The third thing would be reasonable accommodations. Employers in Oklahoma are required to provide reasonable accommodations to employees who are registered medical marijuana patients unless doing so would create a unique hardship or an undue hardship. This may include allowing the employees to use medical marijuana outside of work hours or modifying their job duties to accommodate their medical marijuana needs or their medical needs.
The fourth thing would be federal law. While medical marijuana is legal in Oklahoma, it remains illegal under federal law. This means that employers who receive federal funding or are subject to federal drug testing regulations may be required to prohibit marijuana use by employees for medical purposes.
For more information about medical marijuana use as employees, you can contact me, an OMMA compliance lawyer, at oklahomamedicalmarijuana.attorney.