A North Carolina federal court dismissed a former employee’s legal claims related to her use of CBD outside of work after she tested positive for marijuana and was fired by her employer. Anderson v. Diamondback Inv. Grp., LLC, No. 1:21CV778, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42239 (M.D.N.C. Mar. 14, 2023).
The employer had a drug testing policy which required employees who received an offer of employment to undergo drug and alcohol testing. At the beginning of her employment, the employee tested positive for marijuana and disclosed that she had a history of using CBD. She was permitted to take a second drug test and tested positive for marijuana again. Her employment then was terminated. The employee asserted claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) for wrongful discharge, failure to accommodate, and disability discrimination related to her alleged medical use of CBD. She also alleged discrimination based on the use of lawful products during nonworking hours in violation of North Carolina’s lawful products law.
The employee claimed she took CBD products for medical reasons but she did not have a prescription or medical authorization for CBD use from a health care provider. Rather, she provided a letter from a nurse stating that she used CBD for anxiety and muscle spasms. The court therefore ruled that she failed to prove that she had a disability under the ADA. Moreover, even if the employee could prove that she had a disability, she failed to prove she was wrongfully...
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