Proposed DC Law Would Ban Firing , Employees for Positive Marijuana Tests.
NPR reports Washington, D.C., lawmakers have passed a bill that would keep employers from firing workers who fail a marijuana test.
The bill awaits approval by
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Coined the Cannabis Employment
Protections Amendment Act of 2022, .
the bill would also ban employers from refusing a new hire due to recreational
or medical use of marijuana.
The bill states employers must consider "medical marijuana to treat a disability in
the same manner as it would treat the
legal use of a controlled substance...".
Employers will not be held liable for terminating employees who consume marijuana while at work.
Employers who violate the law could face fines of upwards of $5,000 and must
pay for lost wages and attorney's fees.
Recreational marijuana became
legal in Washington, D.C., in 2015.
Residents of the city over the age of 21 can legally possess up to two ounces of marijuana and can grow up to six plants