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Michigan officials are proposing to end pre-employment drug testing for marijuana for most government job applicants, while also giving people who\u2019ve already been penalized over positive THC tests an opportunity to have the sanction retroactively rescinded.<\/p>\n
The Michigan Civil Service Commission released the proposed amendments to the government\u2019s employment code on Friday, opening a public comment period on the two policies.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichigan voters legalized marijuana\u2019s medicinal use in 2008 and recreational use by adults in 2018<\/a>,\u201d John Gnodtke, the state personnel director, wrote in a memo. \u201cIn light of these changes, commissioners have requested circulation for public comment of potential regulation amendments to end the preemployment-testing requirement for marijuana for classified employees hired into non-test-designated positions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEnding this pre-employment testing for marijuana would not affect the availability of reasonable-suspicion or follow-up testing for marijuana of classified employees, including candidates who become employees,\u201d the notice\u00a0says.<\/p>\n The first change would amend existing code that says state agencies must drug test applicants for cannabis and other substances by adding language saying \u201cexcept that an appointing authority shall not require testing for marijuana for a pre\u2010employment drug test of a new hire to a position that is not test\u2010designated.\u201d<\/p>\n The commission further identified<\/a> a \u201crelated issue\u201d that would need to be modified under the reform. The current rules have made it so people who test positive for cannabis as part of an application process for classified positions lose their conditional offers and face a three-year ban on applying to other state agencies.<\/p>\n Under the new rule<\/a> that the commission is proposing, \u201ca person with an active three\u2010year sanction based on a positive result for marijuana from a pre\u2010employment drug test for a non\u2010test\u2010designated position may request the sanction\u2019s prospective rescission as provided in the regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n If that amendment, which was first reported<\/a> by Detroit Free Press, is adopted, officials also suggested codifying the policy in another section of the code as well.<\/p>\n Public comments on the amendments must be submitted to the commission by June 23 and may be emailed to MCSC-OGC@mi.gov.<\/p>\n In 2021, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) submitted a legal opinion to another state commission<\/a>, arguing that residents fired from the jobs for marijuana use outside the workplace are still eligible by law for unemployment benefits.<\/p>\n \u2014 Employment drug testing policies have been a hot topic across the country amid the marijuana legalization movement.<\/p>\n Last week, the governor of Washington State signed a bill into law that will protect workers<\/a>\u00a0 from facing employment discrimination\u00a0 during the hiring process over their lawful use of marijuana.<\/p>\n That means Washington has joined Nevada in prohibiting discrimination against job applicants for testing positive for marijuana. Several other states, such California<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0New York<\/a>, provide broader employment protections for adults who legally use cannabis during off-hours and away from work.<\/p>\n Four New Jersey police officers are preparing to sue Jersey City after being fired for testing positive for marijuana<\/a>\u2014despite being protected under the state\u2019s cannabis legalization law and guidance from the state attorney general.<\/p>\n The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) recently finalized a rule to amend its drug testing policy<\/a> in a way that could have significant implications for truckers, commercial drivers, pilots and other federally regulated transit workers who use marijuana off the job.<\/p>\n The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)\u00a0has updated its employment policy<\/a>\u00a0to make it so applicants who\u2019ve grown, manufactured or sold marijuana in compliance with state laws while serving in a \u201cposition of public responsibility\u201d will no longer be automatically disqualified\u2014whereas those who did so in violation of state cannabis policies won\u2019t be considered.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Secret Service also recently relaxed restrictions on prior marijuana use<\/a>\u00a0by prospective agents.<\/p>\n Late last year, draft documents obtained by Marijuana Moment showed that the federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was proposing to replace a series of job application forms for prospective workers in a way that would\u00a0treat past cannabis use much more leniently<\/a>\u00a0than under current policy.<\/p>\n The Biden administration instituted a policy in 2021 authorizing\u00a0waivers to be granted to certain workers<\/a>\u00a0who admit to prior marijuana use, but certain lawmakers have pushed for additional reform.<\/p>\n For example, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said at a congressional hearing on marijuana legalization last year\u00a0that he intended to file a bill<\/a>\u00a0aimed at protecting federal workers from being denied security clearances over marijuana.<\/p>\n Last year, the nation\u2019s largest union representing federal employees adopted a resolution in support of marijuana legalization and calling for an\u00a0end to policies that penalize federal workers<\/a>\u00a0who use cannabis responsibly while they\u2019re off the clock in states where it is legal.<\/p>\n The director of national intelligence (DNI) said in 2021 that federal employers\u00a0shouldn\u2019t outright reject security clearance applicants<\/a>\u00a0over past use and should use discretion when it comes to those with cannabis investments in their stock portfolios.<\/p>\n FBI also updated its hiring policies that year to make it so candidates are only automatically disqualified from joining the agency if they\u00a0admit to having used marijuana within one year<\/a>\u00a0of applying. Previously, prospective employees of the agency could not have used cannabis within the past three years.<\/p>\n The Environment Protection Agency (EPA)\u00a0also emphasized to its workers<\/a>\u00a0that they are prohibited from using marijuana\u2014or directly investing in the industry\u2014no matter the state law or changes in \u201csocial norms\u201d around cannabis.<\/p>\n While the Biden administration did institute a waiver policy meant to provide discretion as it relates to federal employment and past cannabis use, it\u2019s come under fire from advocates following early reports that the White House fired or otherwise punished dozens of staffers who were honest about their history with marijuana.<\/p>\n Then-White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki\u00a0attempted to minimize the fallout<\/a>, without much success, and her office released a statement in 2021 stipulating that\u00a0nobody was fired for \u201cmarijuana usage from years ago,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0nor has anyone been terminated \u201cdue to casual or infrequent use during the prior 12 months.\u201d<\/p>\n Key GOP Congressman Says He\u2019ll Review Federal Ban On Marijuana Sales In D.C. After Mayor Raises Safety Concerns<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Michigan Officials Move To End Pre-Employment Marijuana Testing For Government Workers<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Michigan officials are proposing to end pre-employment drug testing for marijuana for most government job applicants, while also giving people who\u2019ve already been penalized over positive THC tests an opportunity to have the sanction retroactively rescinded. The Michigan Civil Service Commission released the proposed amendments to the government\u2019s employment codeContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":65071,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65070"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65070"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65072,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65070\/revisions\/65072"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Michigan Officials Move To End Pre-Employment Marijuana Testing For Government Workers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"