Employers who are regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation and their service agents (collectors, laboratories and Medical Review Officers) must ensure that they use the revised Federal Custody and Control Form (“CCF”) as of August 30, 2021.  The revised CCF can be viewed here.  Last year, the Office of Management and Budget approved the revised CCF but allowed use of the old form to continue through August 29, 2021. Most of the changes…

The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (the “Commission”) published the first set of rules and regulations on August 19, 2021 governing recreational cannabis use in New Jersey (“Personal-Use Cannabis Rules”) under the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (“CREAMMA”).  Those regulations do not include standards for employers to utilize a Workplace Impairment Recognition Expert prior to conducting marijuana drug testing. Marijuana was legalized for recreational purposes in New Jersey in February 2021.  (See…

The Pennsylvania Superior Court has found, as a matter of first impression, that medical marijuana users may maintain a private action under the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act (MMA), including a wrongful discharge action.  See Scranton Quincy Clinic Company, LLC, et al. v. Pamela Palmiter, Case No. 498 MDA 2020 (Pa. Super. Ct. Aug. 5, 2021).  As we previously discussed in our summary of the trial court’s decision, the MMA expressly prohibits employers from discharging, or…

Registered and authorized patients of medical cannabis in Puerto Rico are considered a protected category for purposes of all employment laws under an amendment to the “Act to Manage the Study, Development and Investigation of Cannabis for Innovation, Applicable Norms and Limitations” signed by Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi on July 29, 2021.   The law took effect immediately. Under the amendment, Puerto Rico Law 15-2021, employers may not discriminate against registered and authorized patients of medical…

An employer’s failure to notify an employee of the cost of a confirmatory re-test of his original drug test specimen is a violation of the Iowa drug testing law.  Woods v. Charles Gabus Ford, Inc., Case No. 19-0002 (Iowa June 25, 2021). The Iowa drug testing statute imposes many requirements on employers, including an obligation to notify current employees of confirmed positive test results. The notice must be provided in writing, by certified mail,…

Consistent with legislative trends, Virginia weighed in further on the nationwide marijuana debate by enacting two new comprehensive cannabis-related laws. The first prohibits discipline for employee’s medical use of cannabis oil. The second is an omnibus bill permitting all individuals over the age of 21 to lawfully possess recreational marijuana. All provisions go into effect on July 1, 2021. Background After years of silence in the marijuana debate, in 2020, Virginia decriminalized simple …

Connecticut has become the 19th state to legalize recreational marijuana use by adults. Governor Ned Lamont signed the Act Concerning Responsible and Equitable Regulation of Adult-use Cannabis on June 22, 2021. Connecticut will permit individuals 21 years of age and older to possess and use recreational cannabis. Individuals cannot possess more than 1.5 ounces on their person or more than 5 ounces in a locked container in their home or in a locked glove box…