Workplace Law Using marijuana remains illegal for most people, despite the Liberal federal government's push to legalize it. Even if marijuana use is legalized, employers still have the right to prohibit it in their workplaces and to create policies that allow them to fire employees who come to work intoxicated, subject to the same rules that apply to alcohol use. However, that is not the case with prescribed medical marijuana. Since the passing of legislation in 2014, the number of employees alleging that their use of marijuana is related to chronic pain, cancer, sleeping disorders, and so on, has grown. [continues 615 words]
Using marijuana remains illegal for most people, despite the Liberal federal government's push to legalize it. Even if marijuana use is legalized, employers still have the right to prohibit it in their workplaces and to create policies that allow them to fire employees who come to work intoxicated, subject to the same rules that apply to alcohol use. However, that is not the case with prescribed medical marijuana. Since the passing of legislation in 2014, the number of employees alleging that their use of marijuana is related to chronic pain, cancer, sleeping disorders, and so on, has grown. [continues 535 words]
From a single phone interview, John Chiasson secured a lucrative job on a Fort McMurray construction project. There was only one catch: The offer was conditional on passing a drug test. Chiasson had smoked marijuana five days before the test. He figured it would have cleared his system. He was wrong. Kellogg Brown & Root believed having a potentially impaired worker on a dangerous work site created serious safety risks. Chiasson was fired. In response, he filed a human rights complaint which was upheld by the Human Rights Commission. It said Kellogg's drug policy was to prevent cannabis addicts from being hired. This, it concluded, discriminated on the basis of disability. Determined to fire employees using drugs or alcohol on its dangerous construction sites, Kellogg appealed. [continues 157 words]
Canadian Firms' Hands Tied In Stopping Drug Use Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. - --Sir Winston Churchill Employers' war on drugs is being fought on two fronts -- the workplace and the courtroom. U.S. employers are winning in both. Armed with the freedom to test for drugs, employees can be fired and the courts will not interfere. Canadian employers, meanwhile, have little artillery, as courts continue to strip them of ways to manage drug usage. [continues 541 words]
