By John Bacon, USA TODAY
Brandon Coates, a medical marijuana patient in Colorado fired for flunking a drug test, isn’t entitled to get his job back, even though marijuana is legal in the state, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday.
“Employees who engage in an activity such as medical marijuana use that is permitted by state law but unlawful under federal law are not protected,” the court said in a brief statement. The ruling, affirming a lower court decision, could have implications across the nation.
The case is important for pot smokers and their employers in states where marijuana use has been legalized. Colorado became the first state to legalize recreational use of the drug in 2012, but almost half the states have legalized medical marijuana.
Comment by Rose Law Group Partner Ryan Hurley
“It is unfortunate that the Colorado court is punishing a severely disabled man for using his medication. Thankfully, Arizona has specific protections in its medical marijuana law against employee discrimination for this exact reason.”
Comment by Rose Law Group Employment Law Attorney David Weissman
The long-awaited decision by the Colorado Supreme Court in the Coats case provides clarity for employers in Colorado and certain other states with medical and/or recreational marijuana laws on the books. Given the tension between state and federal law regarding the legal use of marijuana, employers in those states have faced uncertainty when implementing and enforcing workplace drug policies, particularly “zero-tolerance” policies. This decision now allows Colorado employers to enforce those policies against all employees – even if an employee’s off-duty marijuana use is legal – without risk of a lawsuit by the employee.
That said, there are several states – including Arizona – where the state medical marijuana statute expressly prohibits discrimination in employment against medical marijuana cardholders simply because they are cardholders or because they test positive for marijuana metabolites. Although there are limited exceptions to this general rule, such as when the employer could lose a federal license or funding or if the employee works in a safety-sensitive position, those exceptions have not been clearly defined. Accordingly, Arizona employers should be very cautious when taking an adverse employment action against a medical marijuana cardholder and are best advised to consult with legal counsel before doing so.
