SAN DIEGO -- The passage of Proposition 64 still won’t prevent an employer from terminating you for testing positive for marijuana, a local attorney told 10News Wednesday.
Dante Pride, who specializes in employment law, says he often gets calls like this:
“Tested positive for marijuana or THC and I’ve been terminated, can you help me?” Pride said.
Pride’s response is always the same.
“Sorry, but the courts have already spoken, employers do not have to accommodate your use of marijuana in the workplace.”
The passage of Proposition 64, which legalizes the recreational use of marijuana, won’t limit what employers are allowed to do in the workplace. Pride confirms that when it comes to the workplace, nothing has changed.
“Either way, it's still illegal under federal law, and so that's kind of what companies and the California courts are leaning back on,” Pride said.
The courts have upheld an employer’s right to refuse to hire an applicant who tests positive for marijuana in a pre-employment drug screen or fire workers who have failed a drug test, even when the drug was being used legally for medicinal purposes.
Although recreational smoking may be now be legal, Pride says you put your job at risk if you are ever caught under the influence at work.
