Drug Testing

The New York Department of Labor released additional guidance in response to the wave of questions related to the adult-use of cannabis and the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (“MRTA”). This guidance is intended to address some of the most common situations or questions in the workplace. Please note that this guidance does not address the medical use of cannabis.

Discrimination Prohibited

A year of unprecedented challenges resulting from the global pandemic has dramatically shifted how we all attract, hire, screen, and onboard new talent.

Employers across the globe have had to quickly adapt to a new world of hybrid or work-from-home environments, converting to virtual hiring processes in order to complete daily tasks such as interviews and onboarding.

As of June 18, 2021, as this could change at any time, 37 states allow the medical use of marijuana, and 18 states permit the adult use of marijuana.[1] Many employers, and undoubtedly multi-state employers, are struggling with new rules that impact their operations. What do these new rules mean for workplace drug testing programs?  Should employers continue testing for marijuana? – can they?

A year after the pandemic, the 25th Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) Compliance Institute took place virtually this past week. As the healthcare industry adapts to the new normal, HCCA’s conference provides an opportunity for compliance professionals to learn about the latest developments and priorities from regulators.

A survey from the Current Consulting Group (CCG) reports that since the start of the pandemic in 2020, 21% of employers have reported a drop of 61% or more in the number of drug tests that they perform on employees. There are combined factors in play, including high unemployment rates, but the majority of the decline resulted from concern about workplace drug testing safety and COVID-19 precautions.

Workplace drug testing has been around for more than forty years in the U.S.  At the start, drug testing was all about compliance with federal rules and has since evolved with state-specific laws and case laws that employers also need to follow. The primary goal of these rules is to maintain safety in our workplaces.

As I compile PreCheck’s annual list of most popular blog posts this year, I am reminded of everything that we faced in 2020. In a year that transformed the world via the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, PreCheck and our parent company Cisive focused on providing resources for employers and clients to overcome the challenges presented by the coronavirus.

On December 4^th, 2020, the House of Representatives approved the MORE Act (Marijuana Opportunity and Expungement Act), a bill that would end the federal prohibition of marijuana in the United States. In the first significant Congressional action relating to marijuana since the original passage of marijuana prohibition back in 1937, lawmakers passed the historic Bill by a vote of 228-164. 

Whew. What a year it has been! 2020 has brought an abundance of challenges and changes. As the year (finally?) comes to a close, a slew of changes will come following the general election on November 3^rd. In addition to the major national voting objectives such as the next President of the United States, House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, state, and local representation; voters also decided on marijuana legalization measures.   

Positivity rates for employment drug testing reached a 16-year high in 2019, according to recent data collected and reported by Quest Diagnostics[1]. The overall positivity rate in the combined U.S.