In Michigan, employers can now fire or refuse to hire medical cannabis users

Michigan employers now have the right to refuse to hire a job applicant or fire an at-will employee for using medical cannabis. At-will employment refers to a contractual agreement in which an employee can be terminated without cause, providing the reason is not illegal (such as race or disability-based).

 

 

The ruling by the Michigan Court of Appeals originated when medical cannabis cardholder Angela Eplee of Dimondale claimed in a lawsuit that a job offer she had received from the Lansing Board of Water and Light was rescinded after she tested positive for the drug. The offer had been conditional, based on Eplee’s co-operation and compliance with the company’s drug policies.

The company failed to provide Eplee with a reason for withdrawing the offer via mail in the spring of 2017. The company’s lawyer later notified Eplee’s legal representation that the offer was off the table, citing “the needs of the department,” denying that its annulment was a result of Eplee’s drug test results or her “status as a registered qualifying patient under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act.”

A panel of three judges ruled that the 2008 Michigan Medical Marihuana Act does not prevent employers from imposing a zero-tolerance rule in the workplace, saying that while the Act protects cardholding users from “arrest, prosecution, or penalty,” it does not go so far as to “create affirmative rights” for those users.

The court ruled that Eplee was not protected “because the harm she suffered was the loss of an employment opportunity in which she held absolutely no right or property interest.”

The Michigan ruling comes in stark contrast to recent decisions by nearby states like Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, where courts have ruled in favour of the right of employees to consume cannabis for medical reasons.

Eplee’s lawyer Brandon Gardner says the ruling sets a dangerous precedent.

“The decision obviously is disappointing for the public work force here in Michigan, particularly those who thought they had any type of protection under the Medical Marihuana Act,” he said.

“The ramifications are that there is no job security for any medical marijuana user in Michigan.”