10 minute read
TRANSFORMING TEAMS
Marijuana legalization’s impact on the workplace
Marijuana is now legal in some form in 35 states and Washington, D.C., with seven additional states having decriminalized marijuana possession and two states legalizing CBD oil use. Many experts expect the continued expansion of legalization of various forms.
Much like alcohol, no law requires employers to allow employees to use or be under the influence of marijuana at work. However, unlike alcohol, testing for the presence of marijuana presents a problem because it can be detected for much longer than a person experiences its side effects or symptoms.
So, what do you need to know and do as an employer?
Know the laws in your state:
Currently 18 states have legalized medicinal marijuana and 17 states and DC have fully legalized marijuana for medicinal and recreational purposes. Several states also have laws preventing employers from taking employment actions against employees for legal off-duty conduct.
nderstand the different uses:
Recreational marijuana can be used by adults (usually 21 years of age or older) in limited amounts as they wish.
Medicinal marijuana requires a prescription from a health care provider due to covered reasons, which vary state-to-state. By definition, an employee who has a prescription for its use has a condition which may be protected under the ADA and ADAAA.
Cannabidiol (or CBD oil) is oil derived from the cannabis plant which is used to relieve a long list of issues including pain and inflammation as well as anxiety and depression, migraines, MS, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease. It does not cause mind-altering effects as those seen in marijuana.
earn co on side effects and the length of ti e they are felt or observed:
To have a better chance of recognizing if an employee is under the influence while at the workplace, you need to become familiar with common tell-tale signs including the stereotypical dilated pupils and odor of marijuana, but also: ● distorted sense of time, ● impaired memory, ● impaired coordination, ● difficulty in thinking clearly, ● mood swings, ● hallucinations or delusions, ● fear or anxiety, and/or ● increased appetite.
Various factors including amount consumed, concentration of THC, body weight, metabolism, if anything has been eaten, and general tolerance impact how long these side effects will be observed.
nderstand the different testing options and standards:
Marijuana can be detected using saliva, blood, urine or hair testing methods, each having different detection parameters and timing. Again, factors such as form (i.e., smoke or edible), repeated and regular usage, age, and weight will impact if marijuana is detected and how long it will show up in a person’s system, ranging from 36 hours to 90 days.
Also, CBD oil itself may result in a positive THC drug result even though it does not cause the “high” of marijuana.
pdate your pre e ploy ent procedures:
Background checks: You may not be able to consider past marijuana-related criminal convictions once decriminalized. Even in the states where use is still illegal but past convictions are decriminalized, you must disregard any reference to these convictions if they appear on a criminal history report.
Pre-employment drug screening: Unless the position falls under stricter federal regulations (such as DOT), consider the practicality of testing for marijuana after making a conditional offer of employment to a candidate. ● If your state has fully legalized marijuana use, you will be prohibited from taking any action on this result so you
may be paying for something you cannot use or enforce. Furthermore, if legal off-duty activities are protected in your state, then you may now have knowledge of an activity which, if you treat them adversely or differently during employment, can create legal exposure for you. ● If medicinal use is legal, a positive result may lead you to ask about medical information to verify the legal use. This could then create ADA/ADAAA exposure as the candidate would have to reveal medical information requiring marijuana as a treatment.
In both these situations, consider removing marijuana drug testing from your pre-hire process to eliminate this exposure. If you do keep it in your process, train anyone involved as to what is and is not allowed and what can and cannot be asked to clarify.
nforce policies prohibiting the use, possession and being under the in uence at wor :
Given the impact on safety and productivity, employers are allowed to take action if an employee shows multiple side effects, especially if involved in a workplace accident. If you suspect an employee is under the influence of marijuana you should: ● have another manager confirm multiple side effects being exhibited. ● remove the employee from their workspace, especially if they could cause harm to themselves, others or property. ● have someone take the employee for a drug test. (Do not let them drive themselves!) ● take proper disciplinary action, including possible termination if the side effects are verified by a positive test.
In states where marijuana is only legal for medical use, if the employee justifies the positive result claiming they have a prescription, verify their prescription card or ask for a note from their health care provider.
Clearly state your expectations before and during e ploy ent:
As mentioned before, there is no law requiring employers to allow employees to use, possess, sell or be under the influence of marijuana while at work. Given the negative impacts to performance and safety, employers can and should take a no-tolerance stance to marijuana as well as alcohol and mind-altering drugs (even if prescribed) in the workplace.
Clearly and repeatedly state this expectation and the repercussions for failing to meet this expectation to all applicants, candidates, and employees throughout the hiring process and the employment relationship. Explain the company’s drug testing procedures and disciplinary action, including immediate termination, for failing to meet that expectation.
tay up to date on this constantly evolving area of e ploy ent law:
Given the changing regulations, we recommend staying current on the marijuana laws in your state. If you have applicants or employees based in other states, you also need to learn the laws in those states as well.
Paige McAllister, SPHR Affinity HR Group contact@affinityhrgroup.com
Firefighters battled throughout the night to extinguish a blaze that tore through American Lumber Co., Modesto, Ca.
About midnight on June 18, the local fire department received a report of a trash fire on the railroad tracks south of American Lumber. Arriving on the scene, fire crews spotted smoking billowing from an American Lumber warehouse.
In fact, multiple warehouse buildings on the property were on fire, requiring 63 firefighters with 12 fire engines and five fire trucks. The fire caused an estimated $2 million in damages, although fire crews were able to save American Lumber’s office, showroom building, and one warehouse that housed equipment and vehicles.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Royal Building Products Parent Westlake Buying Boral NA
Australia’s Boral Ltd. has agreed to sell its North American building products business to Westlake Chemical Corp. for $2.15 billion in cash.
Expected to close before the end of the year, the deal includes Boral’s roofing, siding/trim, decorative stone, and windows products businesses and nearly doubles the size of Westlake’s building products business.
“This transaction will bring well-established and high-quality architectural solutions and premium product brands to complement our existing businesses, including Royal Building Products’ siding, trim and molding, DaVinci composite roofing, NAPCO Pipe and Fittings, and specialty PVC compounding business,” said Westlake president and CEO Albert Chao.
CALI (Cali Bamboo), San Diego, Ca., has been acquired by UK-based Victoria PLC.
Capital Lumber, Salt Lake City, Ut., is now offering Vista Railing Systems’ cable railing products.
The Kelleher Corp., San Rafael Ca., has partnered with NewTech Wood America to become the exclusive distributor of NewTechWood products in California/Nevada markets. Kelleher’s Ontario, Ca., location will be the distribution hub.
Overseas Hardwoods Co., Mobile, Al., will distribute DuxxBak Composite Decking’s complete product
line to dealers throughout the Southern U.S., from Arizona to Florida, with plans to expand to additional areas.
Hempitecture will build a 20,000-sq. ft. plant in Jerome, Id., to manufacture hemp-based insulation products.
Western Forest Products, Vancouver, B.C., to
support its new strategy of marketing branded products to the professional, has launched a new Products section on www.westernforest.com. The addition should improve the online customer experience through inspiration, education, professional tools, and where-to-buy functionality.
Monarch Technologies, Puyallup, Wa., has launched a new website at www.MonaDeck.com.
Katerra Abruptly Shuts Down
Mass timber giant Katerra, Menlo Park, Ca., declared bankruptcy shortly after beginning to shutter its vast operations.
Founded in 2015, the CLT manufacturing and construction fi rm had raised about $2.2 billion from investors.
The company fi led for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and has begun issuing notice that it will be pulling out of ongoing construction projects and closing its operations across the country, including a CLT manufacturing plant in Spokane, Wa., and roughly 10 branch offi ces across the country, from Centennial, Co., to Jersey City,
Western Landowners Cut Off Public Access for the Summer
Due to extreme drought conditions and risk of wildfi re, private timberland owners and managers throughout the West are opting to close their land to public access for the summer.
Sierra Pacifi c Industries closed its California forestlands to public access beginning June 21, with the ban “to remain in eff ect until further notice.”
“SPI takes its commitment to protecting our forest resources and public safety seriously,” SPI’s Andrea Howell said. “With this year’s extreme drought conditions having substantially increased the risk of wildfi re, we have made the diffi cult decision to close our lands to public access and recreation.”
The public’s use of SPI roads and walk-in access to their privately-owned lands will not be allowed. SPI will regularly evaluate the situation and anticipates the closure will remain in eff ect into the fall.
In western Oregon, numerous other forest owners hut off their land to public access starting on June 28. Aff ected were a combined 600,000 acres owned by Seneca, Eugene; Lone Rock Resources, Roseburg; Giustina Resources, Eugene; Campbell Global; and Giustina Land & Timber Co., Eugene.
The landowners had been monitoring fuel conditions this spring, as well as reviewing snowpack, weather forecasts, and drought impacts. The limited precipitation across the region this spring has signifi cantly aff ected the moisture content of woody debris, as well as the condition of live vegetation fuels and their susceptibility to fi re ignition and spread.
More than one million acres in Oregon burned last year as the state was gripped by a historic wildfi re season. Looking ahead at this fi re season, offi cials are worried given how dry conditions were this spring.
Whereas public lands often have the infrastructure to help keep people safe—such as trails to hike on or fi re rings in campgrounds to contain campfi res—private timberlands lack the infrastructure to safely accommodate public visits. Since most of Oregon’s wildfi res are started by people, public visits to private land have the potential to be dangerous for both the public visitors as well as the timberlands.
To compound the issue, since the beginning of the pandemic, more people are choosing to spend time outdoors.
Todd Payne, CEO of Seneca, said, “We think it is great that people are spending more time outdoors, we just want them to do it safely.”
Fire Hits Arizona Lumberyard
Faulty electrical wiring is suspected as the cause of a fi re at Ace Hardware, Saff ord, Az., that destroyed about $150,000 of lumber and equipment.
The blaze began after hours on June 10 in an area of the lumberyard where employees used power saws to cut lumber for customers. The fi re department initially considered the fi re “suspicious,” but ruled out arson after reviewing security camera footage.
THE POSSIBILITIES KEEP GROWING:
Nature’s majestic pillars.
