[Tudo]

Court says pot smokers can be fired, even in Colo.

Associated Press/Ed Andrieski, File - FILE - In this Dec. 6, 2012 file photo, Brandon Coats works on his computer at his home in Denver. Coats, a quadriplegic medical marijuana patient, was fired from his job …morein 2010 as a telephone operator at Dish Network after testing positive for marijuana. The Colorado Court of Appeals on Thursday, April 25, 2013, upheld the firing of Coats, saying that there is no employment protection for people who use marijuana. In a split decision issued on Thursday, the court said marijuana use is still barred by the federal government, even though state-licensed marijuana use has been approved by voters and is considered lawful. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File)

DENVER (AP) — Medical and recreational marijuana may be legal in Colorado, but employers in the state can lawfully fire workers who test positive for the drug, even if it was used off duty, according to a court ruling Thursday.
The Colorado Court of Appeals found there is no employment protection for medical marijuana users in the state since the drug remains barred by the federal government.
"For an activity to be lawful in Colorado, it must be permitted by, and not contrary to, both state and federal law," the appeals court stated in its 2-1 conclusion.
The ruling concurs with court decisions in similar cases elsewhere and comes as businesses attempt to regulate pot use among employees in states where the drug is legal. Colorado and Washington state law both provide for recreational marijuana use. Several other states have legalized medical use.
The patchwork of laws across the nation and state-federal conflict has left the issue unclear. Based on this ruling, employees who use pot in Colorado do so at their own risk. In Arizona, however, workers cannot be terminated for lawfully using medical marijuana, unless it would jeopardize an employer's federal licensing or contracts.

The Colorado case involves Brandon Coats, 33, a telephone operator for Englewood, Colo.-based Dish Network LLC. Coats was paralyzed in a car crash as a teenager and has been a medical marijuana patient in the state since 2009.
He was fired in 2010 for failing a company drug test, though his employer didn't claim he was ever impaired on the job.
Coats sued to get his job back, but a trial court dismissed his claim in 2011. The judge agreed with Dish Network that medical marijuana use isn't a "lawful activity" covered by a state law intended to protect cigarette smokers from being fired for legal behavior off the clock. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, more than half of all states have such laws.
Dish Network did not return a call seeking comment.
Coats' attorney, Michael Evans, plans to appeal and issued a statement saying the ruling has wide implications.
"This case not only impacts Mr. Coats, but also some 127,816 medical marijuana patient-employees in Colorado who could be summarily terminated even if they are in legal compliance with Colorado state law," Evans noted.
Judge John Webb dissented in the split decision, saying he couldn't find a case addressing whether Colorado judges should consider federal law in determining the meaning of a Colorado statute.
Marijuana supporters say the courts are discriminating against them because Colorado's Lawful Off-Duty Activities law, the provision protecting cigarette smokers, prevents workers from being fired for legal behavior off the clock.
The court said lawmakers could act to change the law to protect people who use marijuana, but there have been no plans to do that at the state Capitol.
Coats told reporters Thursday afternoon that he obtained a prescription for medical marijuana to deal with debilitating muscle spasms that would otherwise prevent him from working. He has been looking for a job ever since being dismissed by Dish.
"I'm not going to get better anytime soon," said Coats. "I need the marijuana, and I don't want to go the rest of my life without holding a job."
The Washington state Supreme Court also has found that workers can be fired for using marijuana, even if authorized by the state's medical marijuana law.
Last year, a federal appeals court ruled against a cancer survivor in Battle Creek, Mich., who was fired from his job with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. after failing a drug test for marijuana. Joseph Casias had a medical marijuana card and said he used pot to alleviate symptoms of an inoperable brain tumor.
According to the Marijuana Policy Project, the California Supreme Court also has ruled that people could be fired for testing positive for marijuana. The Legislature passed a bill to change that in 2008, but it was vetoed.
https://news.yahoo.com/court-says-pot...200634860.html





I'm sorry but this is disgusting behavior on the part of the courts and in my opinion they deserve to be horse-whipped for such an amazingly unjust decision. The original action on the part of dish networks is repulsive and they are an embarassment to the human race.

[Nosmo King]

Old news dude. Google Ross vs. RagingWire Telecommunications....In 2005 California Court of Appeal published a decision denying a qualified medical marijuana user ANY remedy for termination.

Within weeks Dish Network started firing dish installers that used mmj

An employment rights bill passed the California Legislature in 2008 and Arnold 'The Sperminator' vetoed it.

Two steps forward...one back

[Tudo]

Wow, I will never buy a dish from them.

[Cheerful]

Seriously, that's the least we can do - refuse to do business with them.

I quit going to Walmart also, about a year ago...same deal.

[bluepeace]

Really, I don't understand the logic of being judged on the Content of piss versus the content of character. What BS! Sorry just lost a patient to cancer. This stuff gets me worked up!

Bluepeace

[pip313]

Im ok with it sometimes. Flame me if you want but some professions like medicine need people with a fuctioning short term memory. The courts are playing it safe and passing it on to the politicians.

Stoners running a nuclear plant? No thanks. Flying airplanes? Nope. And so on.

Walmart stockers shouldnt be fired though.

[canna woop!]

That's nonsense, getting fired for %100 legal prescription, hang in there Brandon, These companies will face the truth one day, cannabis isa godsend!!!!!!

[Jhhnn]

Originally Posted by pip313

Im ok with it sometimes. Flame me if you want but some professions like medicine need people with a fuctioning short term memory. The courts are playing it safe and passing it on to the politicians.

Stoners running a nuclear plant? No thanks. Flying airplanes? Nope. And so on.

Walmart stockers shouldnt be fired though.

Meh. The problem with that is that current testing can't determine if you're stoned, but only if you have been at some time in the past. If you toked up friday night, you may test hot monday morning when you're not stoned at all. If they could actually tell if you were stoned at the time of the test, it'd be different.

As govt desperation in the WoD has increased, they've called on employers to impose civil penalties for "criminal" acts off the job, and all too many employers are glad to oblige. That's particularly true in this depressed economy.

[Gomez_Addams]

In Colorado, you can leave an employer without notice and without any reason being given, without penalty by the employer. That is to the employee's benefit, and it's not the same in all states.

Likewise, an employer in Colorado can terminate your employment without reason or notice. That of course is to the employer's benefit. That benefit cuts both ways.

Of course, one could choose to live in a state that does _not_ have an "work at will" law on its books. Then your employer would have to give you cause and notice. But watch your ass (and watch your last paycheck vanish) if you leave employment without notice in one of those states!

[Hydro-Soil]

Topic already has a multi-page thread and I can't find it?

Anyone know where it went?

Stay Safe!