Beginning in January of next year, employers in California will not be permitted to inquire about employees’ personal cannabis use or to treat them differently due to that use.
Governor Gavin Newsom has recently signed two bills aimed at improving the state’s legal cannabis industry by updating outdated laws. Assembly Bill 2188 prohibits employers from using the results of marijuana tests on hair or urine—tests that can detect drug traces for days or weeks—to determine hiring, firing, or disciplinary actions. Newsom signed the bill into law in 2022.
Regarding the signing of AB 2188 and other cannabis-related bills in 2022, the governor said in a press release that “rigid bureaucracy and federal prohibition continue to pose challenges to the industry and consumers”.
SB 700, which amends the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act to forbid employers from asking about a job applicant’s history of cannabis use, was signed into law by Newsom this year. This makes AB 2188 clearer.
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AB 2188 was supported by California NORML, a nonprofit that fights for cannabis-related consumer rights. The group argued in favor of the bill that the federal government has recognized that testing for marijuana in the urine or hair does not identify impairment. The group said, “Studies show that metabolite tests for past marijuana use are useless in protecting job safety.”
AB 2188 would not apply to job candidates, workers in the building and construction industry, or employees occupying positions that call for a federal background check or clearance.
The National Federation of Independent Business lists the new laws as one of the top five “compliance headaches” for California’s small business owners in 2024. The California Chamber of Commerce opposed AB 2188 on the grounds that when employers “take legitimate disciplinary measures” against their employees, they run the risk of being held legally accountable. Afterward, the chamber stopped criticizing the bill and stopped referring to it as a “job killer.” The organization stated, “Employers must be able to maintain the safety of their workplace by disciplining employees who arrive at work impaired.”
To comply with AB 2188, employers may still choose to identify impairment using alternative tests, such as blood tests.
Employers are permitted by SB 700 to ask candidates about their criminal histories; however, unless specifically permitted by law, they are not permitted to treat a candidate differently in the event that the employer learns of any prior cannabis use by the applicant that is associated with a criminal history.
California was the first state to legalize marijuana in 1996 for medical purposes. In 2016, the state’s voters approved marijuana use for recreational purposes.
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It is currently legal to use marijuana recreationally in 24 states as well as Washington, D.C.
