HR - Drugs & Alcohol

Executive Summary: As promised, this is the first of multiple Alerts that will explore the details of the ongoing opioid epidemic, identify relevant issues for employers to analyze, and provide suggestions on how to effectively navigate this complicated and highly problematic issue.

Marijuana drug testing is complicated and controversial, and with rapidly increasing federal, state, and local laws affecting workplace policies, it may be challenging for employers to keep up. Indeed, since January, the U.S. Department of Transportation has published new drug testing regulations an

Although marijuana has been legalized for medicinal or recreational use, or both, in thirty-eight states, it is still illegal under federal law, and drug testing is required to comply with a number of federal laws, including the Motor Carrier Safety Act. In addition, the Occupational Safety and Heal

Dear Littler: We are a manufacturing company with facilities in multiple states. We have had a number of incidents when supervisors have suspected an employee was impaired while working due to alcohol or drug use. We are particularly concerned about employees potentially endangering themselves or ot

As courts increasingly enforce applicable state and local laws that make marijuana legal instead of the federal law that makes it illegal, workplace substance abuse policies need a re-look. Jackson Lewis principals Catherine Cano and Kathryn Russo share insights on how the rapidly proliferating laws

On October 25, 2022, U.S. professional basketball player Brittney Griner lost her bid in a Russian appeals court to overturn a nine-year sentence for attempting to smuggle illegal drugs into Russia. According to reports, Griner, a Women’s National Basketball Association star and two-time Olympic gol

Over the course of the World Cup, we have been publishing our own matchups, comparing various aspects of labor and employment law in some of the participating countries. Parts One and Two of this series examined timeouts (vacation) and sick leave entitlements.

Legalization of medical and recreational marijuana use continues to spread across the United States despite the drug remaining a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law. This comes as respondents to Ogletree Deakins’ recent survey report, Strategies and Benchmarks for the Workplace: Ogletr

The last few years have provided numerous reasons for employers to reevaluate drug testing practices—from the rapid development of job protections for medical and recreational marijuana use, to the increase in drug testing-based litigation, to pandemic-related remote work, to staffing challenges. Og

Yes, in almost every U.S. jurisdiction an employer can ask workers who appear to be impaired or otherwise in violation of the employer’s drug and alcohol testing policy to submit to a reasonable suspicion drug test. Even in jurisdictions that authorize the use of marijuana and marijuana products for

The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act passed the House of Representatives on April 1, 2022. If passed by the Senate and signed by the President, the bill would clear marijuana-related convictions from people’s records and remove marijuana from the federal controlled subst

Manufacturers that conduct workplace drug and alcohol testing must be careful when addressing drug test results and employee disclosures of prescription medication use, especially as drug use has surged across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While employers in the transportation industry are acutely aware of the effects COVID-19 has imposed over the last 18 months, another phenomenon has been making itself known: the ever-increasing tally of states and localities across the country legalizing cannabis for medicinal and recreational purp

As Judge Richard A. Licht (quoting a slightly more famous source) said in a 2017 court opinion: “I get high with a little help from my friends.” Four years later, employers may be asking themselves which of their employees are getting high and what can they do about it. States

In November 2020, voters in five states (Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota) voted in favor of legalizing medical and/or recreational marijuana. Since then, there have been several developments within the marijuana legalization world that employers may want to keep an eye on

We would all be excused for wanting 2020 to disappear in a fog of medical marijuana. In case you missed it, here’s a recap of a very busy year for Ogletree Deakins Drug Testing Practice Group.

On November 3, 2020, five states had initiatives on the ballot to legalize the recreational and/or medical use of marijuana, and all five initiatives easily passed. Arizona, Montana, and New Jersey voted in favor of legalizing the possession and recreational use of marijuana for adults aged 21 years

In the past several years, marijuana legalization has become an increasingly difficult issue for employers to navigate. Marijuana legalization raises challenging workplace questions related to drug testing, disability accommodation, workplace safety, hiring, and employment termination, among other i

The state-sanctioned use of marijuana continues to progress, with 33 states authorizing it for medical purposes and 11 states extending those protections to recreational use.