First-impression ruling reshapes pre-employment drug testing across the state
New Jersey job seekers can now sue employers directly over a rescinded offer tied to a positive cannabis test.
That's the headline takeaway from a New Jersey Appellate Division ruling issued on May 26, 2026, in Darlene Sanders v. The Levari Group, LLC, doing business as First Choice Freezer. As a matter of first impression, the court found that the state's Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Market Modernization Act, or CREAMMA, gives applicants the right to sue employers who reject them because of cannabis use.
For HR teams in New Jersey, the practical effect is immediate.
The facts are simple enough. Sanders interviewed for a customer service role at First Choice Freezer on December 6 and 13, 2022. The company offered her the job. She accepted. As part of the standard hiring process, she took a drug test, which showed she had used cannabis within the past 30 days. Sanders said the use was recreational, that she had not used cannabis the day of the test, and that she was not under the influence when she applied.
In early January 2023, she contacted the company's HR department to ask about her start date. According to the decision, the company offered her a retest within a week, at her own expense. She did not have the money. The offer was then rescinded.
The trial court dismissed her CREAMMA claim, saying her remedy was through the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, not the courts. The...
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