A federal appellate court has ruled that a New Jersey law regulating recreational marijuana use does not grant job applicants the right to sue employers that rescind job offers after positive pre-employment drug tests for marijuana. The court found that the law does not provide a private right of action to enforce its employment protections.

Quick Hits

• The Third Circuit court ruled that New Jersey’s CREAMMA does not grant job applicants the right to sue employers for rescinding job offers after a positive marijuana drug test.
• The appellate court emphasized there was no legislative intent to allow individuals to sue for failure to hire based on cannabis use.
• The appellate court also rejected the job applicant’s claim based on New Jersey’s public policy exception to at-will employment.

In a 2–1 published decision on December 9, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a job applicant’s lawsuit against a retailer. The applicant alleged that the retailer had violated the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (CREAMMA), a 2021 law that legalized recreational marijuana use for adults aged twenty-one and older in New Jersey.

The court stated, “In this case, the applicant must demonstrate that CREAMMA specifically benefits job applicants like himself who test positive for cannabis use. However, CREAMMA does not provide such benefits.”

Additionally, the court denied the applicant’s request...

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