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A Colorado state law legalizing marijuana took effect Jan. 1, but employees can still get fired for smoking off the job. The new law permits anyone 21 years of age or older to buy and consume limited amounts of marijuana, even though it is a controlled substance on the federal level. However, according to CNN Money, Colorado law states that businesses are still allowed to prohibit marijuana usage. Courts have also ruled that employees can be fired for smoking pot in their private time, as well as for smoking on the job.
If a company has a strict drug policy, and an employee fails a drug test, "employers can take whatever action they deem to be prudent," said Curtis Graves, an attorney for the Mountain States Employers Council, a non-profit that represents about 3,000 companies. Employees can also be fired for using medical marijuana with a doctor's prescription. The contradiction is in place because smoking pot is still prohibited under federal law.
"The Colorado state court of appeals said that unless [pot] is legal under [both] state and federal law, it is not protected under the lawful off-duty activities law," Graves said.
Therefore, employers can still enforce a zero-tolerance policy, even in states where medical and recreational marijuana are legal. The court decision centered on Brandon Coats, a quadriplegic employee of the DISH Network who was fired in 2010 from his job as a telephone operator after testing positive for marijuana. His lawyers argued that he was protected under a Colorado law that states it is illegal for workers to be terminated for participating in lawful activities in their private time. According to NBC News, the court dismissed the claim in 2011, siding with the DISH Network. The court said medical marijuana use is not a "lawful activity" that is covered by the termination law.
Although the law has been changed, the ruling stills stands. The Colorado Court of Appeals defined the word "lawful," saying that for something to be lawful, it "must be permitted by, and not contrary to, both state and federal law." Graves said that employers make the rules, "and employees need to know what the rules are so they can abide by them."
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source:Latinopost.com
Author: Jessica Michele Herring
Contact: Latino Post
Website: Colorado Court Rules Smoking Marijuana Off the Job Can Be Grounds for Firing : Politics : Latino Post
If a company has a strict drug policy, and an employee fails a drug test, "employers can take whatever action they deem to be prudent," said Curtis Graves, an attorney for the Mountain States Employers Council, a non-profit that represents about 3,000 companies. Employees can also be fired for using medical marijuana with a doctor's prescription. The contradiction is in place because smoking pot is still prohibited under federal law.
"The Colorado state court of appeals said that unless [pot] is legal under [both] state and federal law, it is not protected under the lawful off-duty activities law," Graves said.
Therefore, employers can still enforce a zero-tolerance policy, even in states where medical and recreational marijuana are legal. The court decision centered on Brandon Coats, a quadriplegic employee of the DISH Network who was fired in 2010 from his job as a telephone operator after testing positive for marijuana. His lawyers argued that he was protected under a Colorado law that states it is illegal for workers to be terminated for participating in lawful activities in their private time. According to NBC News, the court dismissed the claim in 2011, siding with the DISH Network. The court said medical marijuana use is not a "lawful activity" that is covered by the termination law.
Although the law has been changed, the ruling stills stands. The Colorado Court of Appeals defined the word "lawful," saying that for something to be lawful, it "must be permitted by, and not contrary to, both state and federal law." Graves said that employers make the rules, "and employees need to know what the rules are so they can abide by them."
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source:Latinopost.com
Author: Jessica Michele Herring
Contact: Latino Post
Website: Colorado Court Rules Smoking Marijuana Off the Job Can Be Grounds for Firing : Politics : Latino Post
