A cable installer’s job offer was rescinded over their use of medical marijuana, according to a complaint released last week by the state attorney general’s office.
The alleged move by Prince Telecom — which has offices in Ocean Township and Hillside — highlights the struggles that employers face trying to enforce a drug-free workplace while respecting an employee’s right to use cannabis during their personal time.
Marijuana’s effects may linger for days, compared with a few hours for drinking, but pot tends to have less impact on an employees’ mental and physical capabilities, according to Lewis Nelson, chairman of emergency medicine at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark.
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Drug tests, meanwhile, can find evidence of THC — the compound in pot that causes a high — weeks after it has been consumed and long after its effects have worn off, he added.
That leaves employers having to consider behavioral characteristics consistent with being under the influence of marijuana when determining whether to take some kind of action against the employee.
What the complaint says
According to the July 2 complaint, the worker — whose name state authorities have redacted — had a job offer on the table in October 2020 from Prince Telecom as a cable installation tech pending the results of a drug test.
In this case, the worker notified the drug testing center that he had a medical marijuana card, which he said was used to treat a disability, the complaint states. Subsequently, the worker tested positive for cannabis.
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Upon receiving the positive result, the worker told a human resources representative about the test, but added that he was protected under state law because of his status as a medical marijuana patient. He never heard back from Prince Telecom and made several attempts to work with them, according to the complaint. The worker ultimately filed the complaint with the state in January 2021.
The state’s Division of Civil Rights said it found “sufficient evidence” that the worker’s rights were violated, specifically regarding disability accommodations.
Those accommodations prohibit a business from taking any kind of action — including termination — against someone because of their disability.
Once the employer is made aware of a worker or applicant’s disability, they have to work with the person regarding accommodations, something the complaint alleges was never done.
“This employer cut off all communication, refusing to even try to work with their candidate,” New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin, the state’s chief law enforcement officer, said in a statement.
Prince Telecom did not return a voicemail and email seeking comment for this story.
How legal weed has affected NJ laws
Guidelines put out in 2022 by the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission — which regulates marijuana in New Jersey — say that the detection of cannabis, by itself, is not grounds to take action against an employer, such as termination or rescinding a job offer.
Under the guidelines, employers can fill out a “reasonable suspicion” report that documents the worker’s behavior, physical appearance and other evidence. The commission posted a sample form online, though employers are free to create and use their own form.
The business could designate employees or a third-party contractor “trained to determine impairment” who would determine whether the worker is under the influence during work hours.
A WIRE could be called in to detect behaviors consistent with someone under the influence of cannabis. But the certification hasn’t yet been finalized, state officials said. No timeline has been made available.
Meanwhile the state’s Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act, signed in 2019, bars employers from taking any kind of adverse action against an employee simply because they are a medical marijuana user.
“Given the lack of certified testers as required under New Jersey law, employers need to have good processes in place to determine if an employee is impaired while working,” said Ray Cantor, deputy chief government affairs officer at the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, an association of industry trade groups.
Employers are essentially left on their own, having to balance out workplace safety while accommodating the 2021 law legalizing marijuana.
“Some employers have just stopped testing for cannabis altogether,” said Stephen Trimboli, a labor lawyer and partner at the Morristown law firm Trimboli & Prusinowski.
That can cause headaches for businesses, even in the case of medical marijuana, said Greg Lalevee, business manager at the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 825 — a union whose workers operate heavy construction equipment such as cranes.
The prospect of cannabis in the workplace has sowed anxiety in high-risk jobs such as manufacturing and construction, where mistakes could mean injury or death, and even office and retail jobs, where employees might frequently interact with customers or handle sensitive legal and financial transactions.
“It’s great that the doctor prescribed it to you,” Lelevee said of medical marijuana. “Did you tell the doctor what you do for a living?”
Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.
Email: munozd@northjersey.com; Twitter:@danielmunoz100 and Facebook
