Bosses Can’t Fire NJ Marijuana Patients Who Fail Drug Test: Court

As long as they’re not showing up to work under the influence or consuming in the workplace, New Jersey medical marijuana patients can’t automatically be fired for failing a drug test, an appellate court ruled.

Many medical marijuana patients in New Jersey are likely protected under the state’s Law Against Discrimination, an appellate panel recently decided. (Read the full written opinion here)

The March 27 ruling comes as part of a decision on a lawsuit between a funeral home in Ridgewood and a former employee diagnosed with cancer.

According to court records, Justin Wild was driving a company vehicle at a funeral in May 2016 when another driver ran a stop sign and struck his car. Wild was injured in the crash and taken to a nearby hospital.

Wild told hospital staff that he had a prescription for medical marijuana, and later provided proof of his prescription to his employer, Feeney Funeral Home, and its parent company, Carriage Funeral Holdings.

“I only take it when I am home, not at work, because I don't want to jeopardize my license for what I have worked so hard for,” Wild allegedly told his former employers.

Regardless, the funeral home required Wild to take a drug test when he returned to work. He was ultimately fired for violating the business' drug and alcohol policy.

• See related article: Funeral Home Director Allegedly Fired For Using Medical Marijuana

The accident was eventually not deemed to be Wild’s fault. Wild – who claimed he wasn’t high at the time of the crash – subsequently sued for discrimination, losing at the Superior Court level, NJ.com reported.

The March 27 decision will allow Wild’s discrimination lawsuit to proceed. It can still be appealed to the Supreme Court.

An appellate panel of judges said that it would be ironic if the Compassionate Use Act – the 2010 state law that legalized medical marijuana – permits an employer to terminate a cancer patient's job by “discriminating without compassion.”

According to their written opinion:

“In short, like the first law of thermodynamics, that provision – beyond its own limited criminal and regulatory context – neither creates nor destroys rights and obligations. So, we reject the essential holding that brings this matter here and conclude that the Compassionate Use Act's refusal to require an employment accommodation for a user does not mean that the Compassionate Use Act has immunized employers from obligations already imposed elsewhere.”

As of April 2019, there are 44,000 patients enrolled in the state’s medicinal marijuana program, according to New Jersey Department of Health estimates.

• See related article: NJ Marijuana Patients Need Lower Prices, More Weed, Health Dept. Says
• See related article: NJ Names 6 Towns Up For New Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
• See related article: Marijuana Justice Act Would Make Weed Legal In U.S.

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