WILL YOU BE FIRED FOR SMOKING WEED?

[realSTONEDtimes]

With legalization on the rise, employers are faced with a type of gray area when it comes to the state and federal marijuana laws and workplace drug testing.

Companies who are looking to keep a drug-free workplace are left wondering if they are allowed to fire or discipline workers for their weed use.

Voters decided to either legalize recreational marijuana or allow/expand their current medicinal marijuana laws in 8 different states. These new laws have made weed legal in some form or another in over half of the country, but yet it’s still illegal federally.

In states like California and Massachusetts, employers should be careful when testing their employees for weed. Firing or disciplining employees for their legalized use could potentially open legal challenges. If workers are not in a safety-sensitive job role, then they should not be tested.

 

[mojave green]

Educate yourself young man!

 

[_tessarecting]

I see you're dabbling in journalism of sorts. Citing sources improves your accuracy and credibility. Hint: what mojave and Richie Hawtin said; research

 

[packerfan79]

No protections in California. You take your chances.

 

[Capt.Ahab]

None in Ma. either.

 

[aridbud]

It's not a new concept. Employers invest a lot in their employees. Drug testing, good or bad, right or wrong, is here to stay.

Have been random tested for 25+ years, even prior to any MMJ statutes.

Working in "at will" employment states, it's harder to fight if test is positive. Although some employers will refer you to an Employee Assistance Program for drugs/alcohol, others find merit in canning you.

Common reasons why employers test:

Deter employees from abusing alcohol and drugs.
Prevent hiring individuals who use illegal drugs.
Be able to identify early and appropriately refer employees who have drug and/or alcohol problems.
Provide a safe workplace for employees.
Protect the general public and instill consumer confidence that employees are working safely.
Comply with State laws or Federal regulations.

 

[WelderDan]

My employer doesn't do random tests, but you do have to do a pre-hire drug screen, and if you get hurt on the job, you're gonna get drug tested. They will send someone to the hospital with you with paperwork. And you will be terminated if you test positive.

We now have legal MMJ for certain conditions, none of which I qualify, and this is also a "right to work" state (or, as I like to say, "right to be fired for whatever dumb ass reason your employer chooses".)

Personally, this is one job I won't do stoned. One distraction and kiss your hand (or worse) goodbye. I've already seen several people get pretty messed up and they were straight. Screw that. The fingers stay on the hand, thank you.

So yeah, I'd be canned. I stayed high at my old IT job, but this one, no way, and that's my choice.

 

[aridbud]

My employer doesn't do random tests, but you do have to do a pre-hire drug screen, and if you get hurt on the job, you're gonna get drug tested. They will send someone to the hospital with you with paperwork. And you will be terminated if you test positive.

We now have legal MMJ for certain conditions, none of which I qualify, and this is also a "right to work" state (or, as I like to say, "right to be fired for whatever dumb ass reason your employer chooses".)

Personally, this is one job I won't do stoned. One distraction and kiss your hand (or worse) goodbye. I've already seen several people get pretty messed up and they were straight. Screw that. The fingers stay on the hand, thank you.

So yeah, I'd be canned. I stayed high at my old IT job, but this one, no way, and that's my choice.

Yes, understandable...Personally, this is one job I won't do stoned. One distraction and kiss your hand (or worse) goodbye

I know from hiring/firing in a previous job (healthcare occupations director), you get more reliable applicants if it's stated "pre-employment drug screen and background check" from the get-go. That weeds out undesirables. Too, like you mentioned...drug testing is a risk management maneuver.

I've had to refrain from cannabis in those jobs....esp. when you are working with a medically fragile population....random screening is, well...rampant.

Indeed, certain occupations like welding or other careers involving power tools (saws, nail gun, tool dye equipment)...one inattentive move, you can lose life/limb.

 

[armedoldhippy]

i used to do nuclear grade/x-ray tested welding for a living, welding fuel rod containers like were damaged at 3 Mile Island. i got stoned on the way to work, and in my jeep at lunch. never had a weld fail to pass x-ray. all we did was weld, however. no power tools etc. if i could do the job straight, i have no problem doing it high. i like how Canada has approached the situation - if you are a pilot, train engineer, ferry pilot etc, you can be random tested. everyone else, from what i have read, is protected by a citizens bill of rights. we USED to have some protections, now they are utterly trashed (for our own good, of course). where i am now, they occasionally do randoms, but they are not truly random. they pick out someone a supervisor does not like, or someone that fucks up regularly & test them plus 4 people that are obviously innocent. if you hit something with a fork truck & do over an estimated $50 in damages, you go to the hospital for a far more comprehensive array of tests, not the normal 5 screen like in the randoms. if positive, you are given the option of rehab or the road... companies that test are slowly giving it up. at one time, over 90% of companies nationwide did randoms, last stats i saw said under 65%...they are tired of having to let good folks go & re-train some other bozo off the street.

 

[WelderDan]

If I was still welding I would be stoned all the time, but I work on a high speed printing press. That mother will take a limb so fast it won't hurt until you realize it happened.

 

[resin_lung]

Theyll fire you out of a cannon if they could. Get hurt on the job with weed in your system...... good luck! It started a while ago because of all the fraud but it wasn't only that. Employers pay through the nose to provide insurance. It wasn't always that expensive but it gradually increased to the point we're at now. A shit ton of money! The whole system is so fucked! Those insurance companies and pharmaceutical fuckers along with all the fraud have a lot to do with business fleeing the country.

 

[Loc Dog]

What is screwed up is that it is no ones business what you did 30 days ago, or more with hair tests. No one should be working stoned. I am more of a mess and less energetic the next day after drinking too much, and people are not tested for that, and there is no law against it.

 

[Pinball Wizard]

This all started with drunks coming to work. I've seen guys coming to work so drunk they crashed into the parking fence.

 

[resin_lung]

I've seen a guy who often came in at 6:00am shitfaced take a header off the DOCK! Nearly killed himself! His fkn face looked like a purple balloon! Haha it's fucked up to laugh at him but he was such a mess! The company talked to lawyers and insurance reps trying to fire him and or get out of paying the bill, but the bottom line was there wasn't a fkn thing they could do about it. The krafty ones tell the boss they have a drinking problem and are seeking help. It gets real tough to fire someone because they have "a disease". Not sure how it would work for cannabis or those harder drugs.

When we were growing on all cylinders way back when, we relied on people to take care of their own spot more or less. There was a lot of dudes from all over this country. Juggling all these different personalities was tough to say the least. The toughest were the cats that drank, but a close second were the cats that LOVED smoking weed! I mean the abusers of both. The drunks made wildly dangerous mistakes and the burnouts never woke up! both spelled doom to an op like that. We had a good long run but in the end it was both of those personalities that helped make it just not worth it. One was too expensive and the other was looking for EVERYONE involved to get locked up!lol good times!

Edit: I remember.... the company wasn't qualified to say weather he was drunk or not and even with a blood test was not able to hold him to any standard. Something like the allowable limit for driving a car had been established but no limit for what his job was had ever been suggested. So long as he didn't drink at work, which means, so long as nobody sees him drink at work, there was little that could be done.

Twas a long time ago though.........

 

[Andyo]

i cant weld stoned

i cant weld stoned

If I was still welding I would be stoned all the time, but I work on a high speed printing press. That mother will take a limb so fast it won't hurt until you realize it happened.

I remember smokin hash at lunch break ,tried carry on welding expansion joints ,long runs
it was terrible i went to sleap in the store room.A

 

[Loc Dog]

Welding is an art. 99% of people could not do it well, straight.

I do not think anyone advocates getting high and going to work, these days. I used to get high at work, as well as most of the other people packing packages for a watch company. Only one person was a disaster, who we called "The horror". His job was to pick orders, and was wrong a lot. I used to drive a standup forklift there, and would drive and raise at the same time, which you are not supposed to do, and never had problems.

 

[resin_lung]

Horrible things can happen around forklifts! I get chills just thinking about the close calls, forget the calls that weren't close enough!?!? Huh haha I've seen toes get flattened! Lifting the forks to waiste high before spreading the forks only to realize that the bolt that keeps the thing from sliding completely off is missing! Poor bastard! Liquid toesies!

 

[Andyo]

people on psychiatric meds

people on psychiatric meds

People on psychiatric meds are a liability too.A

 

[aridbud]

This all started with drunks coming to work. I've seen guys coming to work so drunk they crashed into the parking fence.

Yep....High cost (no pun intended) of running a business....insurance, liability, etc.

 

[studpecker]

Failing a THC (metabolites) drug test does not equate to use on the job. Amazing how the public and even people in this community don't understand this. Employers and insurance companies love the status quo(ignorance). Until this false narrative is changed responsible users will get fired right along with those who are impaired(on the job) in situations where they accepted a job with an employee drug testing policy. Any time I tell someone that an employee was let go due to a failed drug test they say "its dumb to be stoned on the job" or "just another addict". Again until a) tests are created to prove impairment like alcohol and b) employers are required by law to prove impairment while on the job responsible users will sadly get fired for something they did not do while on the job. And IMHO it will need to be legal at the federal before there is a chance in hell that a change like this will take place.