Workplace-related provisions of Connecticut’s marijuana law take effect this summer, introducing job-related rules a year after adult recreational marijuana was made legal in the state.
Employers must have an updated drug-free workplace policy, including rules governing pre-employment drug testing and accommodations for employees with medical marijuana cards. It also allows workers to sue employers for alleged violations.
Gov. Ned Lamont and the General Assembly legalized recreational marijuana in 2021 and employer obligation provisions are set to take effect July 1.
Businesses are getting advice on how to comply with the new law. In a posting on the website of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, John M. Letizia, managing partner of the New Haven law firm Letizia, Ambrose & Falls, said the law limits an employer’s ability to penalize an employee or job applicant based solely on a positive drug test.
Current law does not require employers to have a stated policy to deny employment to a prospective worker who tests positive for marijuana, said Letizia, who represents employers. After July 1, however, employers must have a policy in place to cite a positive drug test as a reason not to hire a worker.
“For the first time ever there’s a law protecting applicants who test positive for pot in their system,” he said. “It’s almost a recreational smoker’s bill of rights.”
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