The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the state’s highest court, has ruled that an employee who used marijuana for medical purposes and was terminated upon failing a drug test can sue her employer for disability discrimination under state law. The decision by the Court in Barbuto v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, LLC, No. SJC-12226 (Mass. Sup. Jud. Ct. July 17, 2017), marks the first time a state’s highest court has green-lighted a medical marijuana discrimination claim.
Worth noting, the Court here said only that a medical marijuana patient can bring a disability discrimination case, not necessarily that he or she could win. The Court left some room for an employer to defend itself on “undue hardship” grounds, specifically mentioning the possibilities of impaired performance, a safety threat, or potential violations of federal law.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.