A positive test for cannabis can no longer disqualify you for most jobs in Washington state.
What’s happening: A new law that took effect Monday bans most employers from denying someone a job based on a drug screening that turns up traces of cannabis.
Why it matters: Inactive THC metabolites from cannabis can remain in urine samples for days or weeks, long after someone is no longer impaired.
While recreational marijuana use has been legal in Washington state for more than a decade, until now it’s also been legal for employers to refuse to hire people who test positive for using the drug.
Details: The new law covers most employers in Washington, but there are some exceptions, including law enforcement agencies, fire departments, 911 dispatch centers and airlines.
The law also doesn’t apply to any other “safety-sensitive position for which impairment while working presents a substantial risk of death.”
Employers would have to identify what qualifies as a “safety-sensitive position” that requires testing before people apply.
Plus: People can still be tested for cannabis use after they’re already employed at a company, such as after a workplace accident or if there’s a suspicion of on-the-job impairment.
What they’re saying: State Sen. Karen Keiser (D-Des Moines), who sponsored the new law, said she thinks the law’s exceptions will be narrowly applied.
“I think the vast majority of applicants for jobs in all kinds of industries will no longer be subject to this discrimination,” Keiser told Axios this week.
Between the lines: Because cannabis remains illegal under federal law, federal employees can still be subject to pre-employment screenings for the drug.
So can federal contractors and transportation workers who are subject to federal certification requirements, Keiser said.
Zoom out: Recreational marijuana use is now legal in about half of U.S. states.
Some, including Nevada and California, have adopted laws similar to Washington’s limiting pre-employment cannabis screening, according to NORML, a national group that advocates for marijuana law reform.
Paul Armentano, NORML’s deputy director, said in a news release last year that it’s long past time for companies “to cease punishing employees for activities they engage in during their off-hours that pose no workplace safety threat.”
He said that people who use cannabis legally should be held to a similar standard as those who use alcohol responsibly on their own time.
