A recent opinion from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania serves a win to a medical marijuana card-holder who brought claims against an employer under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act (“MMA”), and Pennsylvania common law. The decision reflects careful fact pleading by the plaintiff. It also highlights a number of important themes for Pennsylvania employers, including the importance of evaluating job duties and having legitimate reasons for policies prohibiting off-duty marijuana use. In jurisdictions with employment protections for medical marijuana users, the decision also underscores the care employers should take if an employee or applicant discloses that they are a lawful medical marijuana user.Continue Reading Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Card-Holder Survives Employer’s Motion to Dismiss
americans with disabilities act
Firefighter’s Federal Disability Claims Based on Pot Use Snuffed Out by Connecticut District Court
By Cary Reid Burke, Stan Hill & Jennifer L. Mora on
Posted in Employment Law
Big Takeaways
Recently, when dismissing a former employee’s claims brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the District of Connecticut issued two welcome reminders to employers. First, to set out an ADA disability discrimination claim, a plaintiff must allege that the employer was aware of the plaintiff’s disability. Second, and just as important, the ADA does not provide protection against discrimination based solely on medical marijuana use or require accommodation of medical marijuana use (although state laws may provide some protections).
Case Summary
In Eccleston v. City of Waterbury, Case 19-cv-1614 (D. Conn. Mar. 22, 2021), Plaintiff was a firefighter for the City of Waterbury. According to the Complaint, in 2017, Plaintiff was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Sometime thereafter, Plaintiff informed his battalion chief that he was thinking of applying for a medical marijuana card. Plaintiff was told that doing so “would not be a good idea.” Even so, Plaintiff obtained a marijuana card in January 2018. Critically, when talking to his battalion chief, Plaintiff did not mention his PTSD diagnosis, or that he sought a medical marijuana card for the purpose of treating a purported disabling condition.Continue Reading Firefighter’s Federal Disability Claims Based on Pot Use Snuffed Out by Connecticut District Court
Possession of a Medical Marijuana Card Doesn’t Necessarily Prove Current Drug Use
By Jennifer L. Mora on
Posted in Medical Marijuana
Last month, a Hawaii federal district court judge denied an employer’s motion to dismiss an applicant’s claim for disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) where the employer merely assumed that an applicant who admitted to having a medical marijuana card was a current marijuana user and would fail a drug test.
Continue Reading Possession of a Medical Marijuana Card Doesn’t Necessarily Prove Current Drug Use