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In November of last year, WalMart fired an employee for failing a routine drug test. This wouldn’t be out of the ordinary – a report by the Society for Human Resource Management in 2006 found 84% of employers tested prior to hiring, and 58% tested after workplace accidents. However, the case of Joseph Casias is much more complicated. Casias, a resident of Michigan, has a medical marijuana card, and is suing WalMart for wrongful termination. In a case that could effect almost every small loan company up to large corporation doing business in 14 US states, the rights of a corporation to determine who they employ is being weighed against the rights of medical marijuana users.

Smoke, smoke, and mirrors of medical marijuana laws

There are 14 states in the US that permit the medical use of marijuana, in some form or another. The Federal Government lists marijuana as a schedule 1 drug, with “no accepted medical use and tendency for abuse.” The Washington Post reported that in October of 2009, federal prosecutors were directed to ” back away from pursuing cases against medical marijuana patients .” The resulting patchwork of laws, regulations, and legal protections for medical marijuana users such as Joseph Casias has created a difficult situation for employers.

Wal-Mart’s right to drug test

Employer drug testing was ushered in with the Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988, the first federal law about employer drug policy. Each state has its own regulations and laws covering drug testing in the workplace. In Michigan specifically, Wal-Mart had informed Joseph Casias that they would be using drug testing, and that marijuana was included on the test. Employers, in general, have the right to test employees for alcohol or drug use upon hiring, after workplace accidents, and at random if they so choose. Employers, generally, have to test evenly across their employees.

Why Wal-Mart fired Casias for medical marijuana use

Joseph Casias injured his knee at work, and though he had been Associate of the Year at the Wal Mart he worked at, they followed policy and informed him he would be drug tested. The test returned positive, and he informed his employers he was legally using marijuana to treat a brain tumor. Casias was informed, as CNN reports, that it would not be a problem as he was legally using marijuana. However, in accordance with Wal-Mart’s corporate policies about positive drug tests, Casias was fired. Jospeh Casias maintains that he never went to work high, or used on the job. However, urine analysis tests cannot determine the time frame in which a drug was used, only that it was or was not.

Medican marijuana user rights as employees

The difficulty for both corporations and employees comes in marijuana’s “gray market” status. It is legal in some states, but illegal on the federal level, and corporations are legally allowed to fire employees for marijuana use under federal law. In most states, employers have some latitude in their drug testing policies if a test returns positive. However, medical marijuana advocates point out that it leaves many employees in a very tough situation – told they can use marijuana to treat their medical condition without fearing state law, but also not protected from being terminated from their workplace. With most health insurance also provided through employers, often terminally or chronically ill patients also have to weigh using medical marijuana against losing the insurance they may be extensively using.

Employer’s right to terminate for using medical marijuana

In the 14 states that currently have medical marijuana provisions, the legal implications are still being tested. In 2008, California’s supreme court ruled in the case of Ross v.Ragingwire Telecommunications, Inc, which determined employers are within their rights to fire or not hire employees that legally use marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Smoke, more smoke, and haze cloud medical marijuana laws

Considering the maze of employer laws, medical marijuana laws, and corporate policy, like that of Wal Mart, laws regarding employees using medical marijuana are going to remain unclear for some time. Much like regulations on a payday loan company, the laws and court cases will most likely remain an issue for each individual state to sort out.

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