Pubdate: Thu, 05 Jun 2014
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: John Ingold
Page: 4A

AG SUPPORTS THE FIRING OF MEDICAL-POT PATIENT

The Use of Marijuana by a Former Employee of Dish Network Led to Dismissal.

The state attorney general's office says Coloradans do not have a 
right to use marijuana off the job, siding with a satellite 
television company in its firing of a medical-marijuana patient.

In a brief filed with the state Supreme Court last month, the 
Colorado attorney general's office argues that giving workers a right 
to use marijuana off duty "would have a profound and detrimental 
impact on employers in the state."

"Contrary to popular perception, Colorado has not simply legalized 
marijuana for medical and recreational purposes," state attorneys 
write in the brief. "Instead, its citizens have adopted narrowly 
drawn constitutional amendments that decriminalize small amounts of marijuana."

The Colorado Court of Appeals-the state's second-highest court-last 
year upheld Dish Network's firing of a quadriplegic medical-marijuana 
patient for a positive drug test. Although there is no allegation 
that Brandon Coats was stoned at work, the company said it has a 
zero-tolerance policy on marijuana.

Coats say his off-the-job marijuana use should be protected by 
Colorado's Lawful Off-Duty Activities Statute, which prevents 
companies from firing employees for doing things outside of work-like 
smoking cigarettes-that are legal. Dish Network argues that marijuana 
use can't be considered lawful while cannabis remains illegal federally.

In its brief supporting Dish Network, the state attorney general's 
office says zero-tolerance policies ensure that employees are able to 
perform their jobs competently. Requiring employers to prove that 
workers are stoned on the job before they can be fired would require 
companies to conduct "intrusive investigations into the personal life 
of an employee."

"Simply put, zero tolerance policies provide businesses with an 
efficient means of avoiding difficult employment decisions and even 
litigation," the attorney general's brief states.

Coats' case is the first time Colorado's highest court has taken up 
questions about the scope of marijuana legalization in the state, and 
it has drawn at least six outside groups filing briefs in support of 
Coats or Dish.

The Colorado Mining Association, the Colorado Defense Lawyers 
Association and the Colorado Civil Justice League-which claims an 
allegiance with several businesses and groups including the Denver 
Metro Chamber of Commerce - have filed briefs on behalf of Dish. The 
Colorado Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association and the Patient and 
Caregivers Rights Litigation Project have filed briefs supporting Coats.

The Supreme Court has not announced when it will hear the case.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom