Marijuana policies a work in progress for CT employers
With recreational marijuana use becoming legal Thursday in Connecticut for those ages 21 and above, employers have another year to hatch language for their human resources manuals to address instances in which a worker shows signs of being high on the job.
Many will need the time to absorb the new law and how companies have implemented policies in other states that have legalized marijuana, according to several experts.
“Employers are first focusing on drug testing policies,” stated David Lewis, CEO of the Norwalk firm OperationsInc which offers human resources workshops and consulting to companies nationally. “Many in (Connecticut) already stopped testing for marijuana given how legally accessible it was in neighboring states. The remaining ones are either making that call or being advised by testing agencies to eliminate this part of the test.”
A human resources attorney with the Connecticut Business & Industry Association said the Connecticut law was written to provide broad leeway for employers to craft their own policies, provided they put everything in writing themselves and make everyone aware. The law gives employees avenues to challenge any disciplinary actions if they feel their rights were violated, including in the courts.
“The law is focusing on what is your state (of sobriety) at work,” said Diane Mokriski, an attorney who spent two decades in the Hartford office of O’Connell, Attmore & Miller before joining CBIA last December. “An employer has to have a reasonable suspicion you are high to take any action.”
Mokriski said she expects CBIA will offer a workshop on marijuana policy for employers at its annual employment law forum, scheduled this year for November.
Last February, defense contractors General Dynamics, Sikorsky and Raytheon Technologies voiced opposition to the Connecticut move to legalize marijuana. All three have major operations in Massachusetts and other states where marijuana has been legal for years as a recreational drug.
“The National Institute on Drug Abuse has found that workplace injuries and accidents increase dramatically with cannabis use,” the companies wrote in joint testimony to the Connecticut General Assembly. “There is no practical way for an employer to accurately determine whether someone is impaired because of the way that cannabis interacts with the body and there is no way to test an employee’s level of impairment.”
The Connecticut law includes an allowance for employers to prohibit marijuana use by their workers if it would place any contracts in jeopardy under federal rules. Manufacturing is one of several job functions where employers can bar marijuana use, with a few others including vehicle operators, emergency response, schools and health clinics.
A “code of conduct” manual for employees of Sikorsky and parent Lockheed Martin explicitly prohibits marijuana possession or use in the workplace, while offering employees assistance if they want help with any recreational dependency.
“We thank Gov. (Ned) Lamont and members of the Connecticut General Assembly for considering critical employer protections to ensure we can meet our obligations to maintain a drug-free workplace in Connecticut,” Lockheed Martin spokesperson Melissa Chadwick said. “The employment language embodied in (the law) allows us to continue to do business in Connecticut while meeting critical national security obligations to the federal government and commercial customers.”
Federal law extends as well to the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun resorts in eastern Connecticut, with both venues and other sovereign properties located on federal land.
“At this time Mohegan Sun will not be changing our team member policies as it relates to cannabis,” Mohegan Sun President Jeff Hamilton said. “Team members are not permitted to possess or use cannabis while working, and consumption is also not permitted before a work shift.
As it relates to guests, at this time Mohegan Sun will also keep current policies in place which do not allow for cannabis consumption on property.”
Among employee handbooks by Massachusetts companies that are accessible online, marijuana for the most part has been added to sections addressing impairment from alcohol and other drugs, without any language specific only to cannabis use.
As one example, the Cape Cod Collaborative’s employee handbook reserves the right to fire an employee for possession of marijuana, alcohol or other drugs on the job, with the organization providing services to schools from transportation to executive search and professional seminars.
But the manual acknowledges workers have lifestyles in addition to their livelihoods, and says anyone who comes forward voluntarily for help to kick a drug habit will get that help. Anyone found to use marijuana or other drugs can be fired at will, but with the organization also offering the possibility for continued employment with a drug rehabilitation program and regular testing.
“While the CCC has no intention of intruding into the private lives of its employees, the CCC does expect employees to report for work in condition to perform their duties,” the handbook states.