Ending years of discussion about the scope of state law employment protections for individuals who use marijuana recreationally, the Nevada Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s decision to dismiss a complaint by an employee who was fired for testing positive for marijuana on a post-accident drug test. In Ceballos v. NP Palace, LLC, the employee asserted that the positive drug result was due to his use of recreational marijuana at home, that he was not intoxicated or impaired at work, and he had complied with state law. After his termination, the employee brought a complaint against his employer for damages under Nevada’s law protecting the off-work use of a lawful product and common-law tortious discharge.

The employee’s first proposed cause of action alleged a violation of NRS 613.333(1), which makes it unlawful for employers to “[d]ischarge . . . any employee . . . because the employee engage[d] in the lawful use in this state of any product outside the premises of the employer during the employee’s nonworking hours” so long as “that use does not adversely affect the employee’s ability to perform his or her job or the safety of other employees.” The Nevada Supreme Court rejected the employee’s argument that the phrase “lawful use in this state” meant lawful under state law, and found that the statute refers to the use of products lawful under both state and federal law. In reaching this conclusion, the Nevada Supreme Court examined the language of the statute, noting...

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