On May 26, 2026, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, held for the first time that applicants and employees who are denied employment based on a positive test for cannabis can sue their employers for violations of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Market Modernization Act (CREAMMA).

Quick Hits

• In Sanders v. The Levari Group, LLC, the Appellate Division found that CREAMMA provides an implied private right of action against employers that refuse to hire individuals based on positive cannabis tests.
• CREAMMA provides that “[n]o employer shall refuse to hire or employ any person or shall discharge from employment or take any adverse action against any employee … because that person does or does not … use cannabis items.”
• In the case, the employer had offered a job to an individual who later tested positive for cannabis metabolites. After the individual declined to pay for a second drug test at her own expense, the employer rescinded its offer.

Background

In December 2022, Darlene Sanders interviewed twice for a customer service representative position with Levari Group, LLC. Levari offered Sanders the position, which she accepted, and required her to take a pre-employment drug test. That test detected the presence of cannaboid metabolites, indicating Sanders had used cannabis within the past thirty days. Sanders admitted to using cannabis for recreational purposes during that time but denied using cannabis on the day of the drug...

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