In California, lawmakers are looking to ensure that workers don’t lose their job if they consume marijuana at home. Last week a bill was passed that will prevent employers from firing workers if they fail a drug test.
Drug tests look for metabolites, which is a substance that the body makes when it breaks down THC (THC is the psychoactive compound in marijuana that gets you high).
Metabolites can stay in a person’s body for weeks after using marijuana, which means people can fail a drug test despite not being impaired. The legislation doesn’t stop companies from punishing workers for failing other types of tests that are better in determining if a person is currently compromised.
“Nothing in this bill would allow someone to come (to work) high,” said Assembly member Bill Quirk, a Democrat from Hayward and the author of the bill, in the report.
The bill has been forwarded to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will have until the end of September to decide whether to sign it into law. The legislation would take effect on Jan. 1, 2024.
California has the highest number of cannabis consumers. In 2020, there were 6.7 million cannabis users in the state, according to Statista. Since 2016 marijuana has been made legal in California.
“Using outdated cannabis tests only causes employees to feel unsafe and harassed at work, it does not increase workplace safety,” said Matt Bell, secretary-treasurer for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 324, told the Associated Press.
However, the new California legislation doesn’t protect businesses that must perform drug testing to receive federal funding or comply with federal contracts, and workers employed in the building and construction trades, according to the report.
