Compliance Stuff

On April 11, 2025, a federal judge for the U.S. Western District of Pennsylvania reversed his recent decision to dismiss a disability discrimination claim from a job applicant with a medical marijuana card who alleged he had a job offer rescinded following a pre-employment drug screen . Quick Hits A federal judge reinstated a disability discrimination claim after a job applicant with a medical marijuana card alleged that his job offer was rescinded without proper consideration of reasonable accommodations for his underlying medical conditions. The judge had previously dismissed the disability discrimination claim after finding that status as a medical marijuana cardholder was not a qualifying disability. The ruling underscores the legal uncertainty surrounding the protection of employees’ lawful medical marijuana use under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. While considering a motion to certify an appeal, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Colville reversed his  March 2025 dismissal...

A Florida state court recently held that an employer violated the Florida Civil Rights Act by failing to accommodate an employee’s off-duty, off-site medical marijuana use to treat his disabilities. The court granted summary judgment in favor of the former employee, whom the employer had placed on unpaid administrative leave after he tested positive for marijuana during a random drug screening. Quick Hits A Florida state court ruled that employers must accommodate off-site medical marijuana use, granting summary judgment in favor of a former employee who had been placed on unpaid administrative leave after testing positive for marijuana. Although the use of marijuana is still prohibited under federal law, t he employee, an emergency medical technician, was licensed by the state of Florida, and his CBA allowed employees to report the use of prescription medications authorized under both federal  or state  law upon testing positive on a drug test. Background Angelo Giambrone was...