California’s Cannabis-Friendly Workplace Law Took Effect January 1, 2024

California’s Cannabis-Friendly Workplace Law Took Effect January 1, 2024

California’s 2022 Assembly Bill 2188 (here) went into effect on January 1, 2024.  The law amended California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act by declaring:  “[i]t is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment, or otherwise penalizing a person … [for] use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace … [or for] employer-required drug screening test that has found the person to have nonpsychoactive cannabis metabolites in their hair, blood, urine, or other bodily fluids.”  That same law does not allow an employee to possess, be impaired by, or use cannabis on the job.  While possession and use are relatively easy to establish, proving an employee is “impaired by” cannabis when there is no direct evidence of possession or use will likely be a subject of much litigation under this law.  

In October of 2023, California passed an amendment to this law in SB 700 (here), which also takes effect on January 1, 2024, adding two extra prohibitions.  First, an employer cannot request information from a job applicant relating to the applicant’s prior use of cannabis.  Second, unless state or federal law requires otherwise, an employer cannot use information about a person’s prior cannabis use obtained from the person’s criminal history as a basis to discriminate against that person in hiring, termination, or any other term or condition of employment.