Samuel Sverdlov

Connect: Read more about Samuel Sverdlov
Firm/Organization: Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Blogs: The Blunt Truth

Latest Articles

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Tenth Circuit is set to decide whether workers in Colorado’s legalized marijuana industry are entitled to wage and hour protections under the FLSA.  The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the federal statute that provides wage and hour benefits to certain employees.  On the other hand, the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is a federal statutes that categorizes marijuana as a Schedule I drug, meaning it is illegal under federal law.  Simple possession…
On July 17, 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”), the highest state court in Massachusetts, held that an employer could be liable for disability discrimination by declining employment based on an individual’s off-duty medical marijuana use. This is a landmark decision, which has major implications for employers with drug testing programs and drug-free workplace policies.…
New York state’s Medical Marijuana Program historically has been one of the most restrictive in the United States with strict limitations on the number of licensed producers and various barriers preventing patients from accessing medical cannabis. However, recent expansions to New York’s qualifying conditions and changes to the licensing requirements for medical professionals will allow more patients to participate in the program.  …
Seyfarth Synopsis: Last month, a New Jersey Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) held that an employer’s worker’s compensation insurance carrier must reimburse an employee who was injured on-the-job for his medical marijuana. On ­­January 18, 2010, New Jersey became the 14th state to enact legislation permitting the sale of medical marijuana.  (To read more about the New Jersey medical marijuana law, please see our blog post here.)  Compared to other state medical marijuana laws, the…
As we enter a new year, and approach the one year anniversary of New York’s Medical Marijuana Program,  we are given an opportunity to look back and reflect on the performance of the program, and what lies ahead. In some ways, the program has been vastly successful.  As of January 3, 2016, 807 practitioners have registered for the Medical Marijuana Program, and 12,067 patients have been certified by their practitioners. However, the Medical Marijuana Program…
Not everybody has been high on life since Colorado passed Amendment 64 on November 6, 2012, which legalized the sale and distribution of marijuana in Colorado.  Since the passage of Amendment 64, several states have voiced their concerns regarding the inherent conflict between states legalizing medical and/or recreational marijuana, and the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”), which lists marijuana as a Schedule I drug, and forbids its sale or use.  On March 21, 2016, the Supreme…
Ohio Governor Kasich’s presidential campaign went up in smoke.  So did his opposition to marijuana legalization in the medical context when he recently signed into law Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Act (“OMMA”).  He went from unartfully quibbling with Stephen Colbert about marijuana’s “problem” despite seemingly not being harmed by his own admitted usee to making Ohio the 26th state to enact medical-marijuana legislation.  (To read more about the medical marijuana laws in Pennsylvania, New…
Can a bistro in Pottsville, Pa. fire employees for using medical cannabis?  Not anymore.  On Tuesday, May 17, 2016, the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act (SB-3) (“MMA”) went into effect, following Governor Tom Wolf’s signature last month (as previously reported here).  Pennsylvania joins 24 other states, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, on the Pineapple Express.  Along the way, employers will learn their ability to discipline employees for consuming medical marijuana on the…
In the stoner-classic, “Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie,” Cheech Marin laments: “I’m gonna be late for work again. That’s the fifth time this week, and it’s only Tuesday, man.” While Cheech’s calculations remain a mystery, the prospect of employees coming to work while under the influence of marijuana presents a concerning picture for employers.  In an era where medical marijuana is legal in certain circumstances under the state laws of New York, New Jersey, and…