“Employers cannot control their employees’ private lives by calling the legal use of marijuana outside of work hours ‘misconduct.’” Michigan residents who consume cannabis may be disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits if employees are shown to have cannabis metabolites in their systems when drug-tested — even if the employee consumed the drug on their personal time, and despite the fact that medical and adult-use cannabis is legal in the state. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed an amicus brief earlier this month contending that employees fired for cannabis consumption outside their working hours and place of work should remain eligible to receive unemployment benefits, reports US News. The brief was filed with the state’s Unemployment Insurance Appeals Commission and addresses three separate cases where employees were involved in work-related incidents, tested positive for cannabis, and claimed to be sober at the time of the accident. Cannabis metabolites can be detected for days, weeks, and even months after consumption in heavy users, making it difficult to impossible for employers to determine if a worker was acutely high at the time of a workplace incident.
420 Intel – Marijuana Industry News, 08/22/2021 20:00:00