On Sept. 24, the Pittsburgh City Council passed a new ordinance prohibiting employment discrimination against an individual’s status as a medical marijuana patient. Mayor Ed Gainey signed the ordinance the same day, making it effective immediately.
The new ordinance makes it an unlawful employment practice for employment agencies, labor organizations, and employers with five or more employees to require applicants who hold valid Pennsylvania medical marijuana cards to participate in a pre-employment drug test for marijuana. It also limits employers’ right to require marijuana tests of employees who hold Pennsylvania medical marijuana cards during the course of their employment, absent suspicion of impairment.
The ordinance identifies a medical marijuana patient as “[a]n individual who has a serious medical condition, disability, or handicap such that qualifies them for medical marijuana use.” Such an individual is also certified under Pennsylvania law to use marijuana for medical reasons. Therefore, the terms of the ordinance would not protect individuals who do not participate in the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Program.
The new Pittsburgh ordinance is unlike statutes in other jurisdictions that provide employment protections to workers who participate in state medical marijuana programs because it targets employer-mandated drug tests instead of limiting employers from taking adverse action on the basis of an individual’s state-sanctioned marijuana use. In New Jersey,...
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