During the Florida Educational Negotiators General Membership Meeting on January 31, 2020, Leonard Dietzen addressed how the legalization of medical marijuana, hemp and CBD oil affect Florida’s employers.

Two proposed bills currently before the Florida legislature known as the Medical Marijuana Employee Protection Act will , if passed, create a cause of action for employees to sue employers who take adverse employment action because of the employee’s medical marijuana patient status.

Employers are encouraged to review and update drug-testing policies to ensure they:

• Set clear expectations for applicants and current employees;
• Provide justifications for the need for drug-testing;
• Expressly allow for adverse action (including termination or refusal to hire) as a consequence of a positive drug test; and
• Address how to respond to “claims” of false positive tests as a result of alleged CBD use.