3 Things Employers Need to Know About RI’s Cannabis Act

3 Things Employers Need to Know About RI’s Cannabis Act

The Rhode Island Cannabis Act was signed into law on May 25, 2022. While medical cannabis has been legal in Rhode Island since 2006, the new law permits residents over 21 years of age to possess and consume cannabis for recreational purposes, similar to many other states. What does the Act mean for employers?

 

1. You can still implement policies prohibiting employees from being under the influence of cannabis in the workplace or other location where an employee performs work, which includes remote work. Be sure to review your drug and alcohol use policy and update any sections impacted by the law.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

 

2. Employers can’t fire or take disciplinary action against an employee solely for their private, lawful use of cannabis outside the workplace as long as the employee has not and is not working under the influence of cannabis. Consider training managers and supervisors on how to recognize and document reasonable suspicion as well as how to respond if an employee is under the influence at work.

 

A couple notable exceptions to the protection for off-duty use is that, for work performed in safety-sensitive positions (defined as “hazardous, dangerous or essential to public welfare and safety”), employers can have a policy prohibiting an employee’s use of cannabis 24 hours prior to beginning work. In addition, drivers of commercial motor vehicles subject to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s drug and alcohol testing regulations never may use marijuana.

 

3. Your actions are limited when it comes to pre-hire or suspicion-based drug testing results since an employee is not considered “under the influence solely for having cannabis metabolites in their system. If you perform drug testing, review your policy against the law to ensure compliance. You’ll also want to analyze the risk versus reward of continued drug testing.

It's important to note that employers with employees subject to a collective bargaining agreement or who are federal contractors subject to federal law are not required to comply with this new law.

 

Melissa M. Gillespie is the Vice President, HR Services, Hilb Group New England. She leads the company’s HR Services practice and is dedicated to simplifying the complexities of HR for clients.