
Individuals who feel they have been discriminated against in employment because of their medical marijuana use have the same remedies as those set forth under the Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Act.

The new law also did not disturb the provisions of the 2018 Oklahoma medical marijuana law allowing discriminatory action if a failure to discriminate would cause an employer to “imminently lose a monetary or licensing related benefit under Federal law or regulations.”

Employers also, again, have delineated rights to create a written policy regarding drug testing and “impairment” as provided under the Oklahoma Standards for Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Act. The Unity Bill clearly states that employers are never compelled to allow marijuana use during working hours or on the premises, or to reimburse employees for costs associated with the use of medical marijuana. The Unity Bill does reference the Oklahoma Standards for Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Act, however, which lists the circumstances in which an employer may conduct “for-cause” testing, and in that sense, provides some guidance on the types of observations that might lead an employer to believe that an employee was under the influence of marijuana at work. Unfortunately, nowhere does the new law define what “under the influence of medical marijuana” means.
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The original Oklahoma ballot initiative prohibits employers from “discriminating” against any worker in the terms and conditions of employment because of the individual’s status as a medical marijuana license holder or solely based on the results of a drug test positive for marijuana or its components. The Unity Bill was intended to bring together members of law enforcement, business, and medical marijuana patients by creating a system to regulate patients and businesses. The group also sought to protect the public from dangers posed by those impaired by medical marijuana working in “safety sensitive” jobs. 1īalancing Patient Protections and Safety Concerns The “Unity Bill” is the result of this effort, and is projected to take effect the end of August 2019. The ballot provision’s passage initiated the creation of a working group to devise regulations supporting the new medical marijuana industry in Oklahoma. Oklahoma voters passed a state ballot measure in June 2018 to implement a medical marijuana law. Moving swiftly, the state began certifying medical marijuana users in August 2018 and reports more than 60,000 patients have been certified to date. The Act, better known as the medical marijuana “Unity Bill,” amends the state’s medical marijuana law to create a system for implementing dispensary licenses and to amend and clarify who must be accommodated in the employment context if they are medical marijuana users. On March 12, 2019, Oklahoma Governor Stitt signed into law the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Use and Patient Protection Act.

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