In an increasingly rare employer-friendly decision involving marijuana use, the Supreme Court of Rhode Island ruled recently that an employer had a valid legal basis for terminating an employee who refused to undergo a drug screening after displaying erratic, out-of-character behavior.
Although the plaintiff in Colpitts v. W.B. Mason Co. , No. 2018-337-Appeal (R.I. May 29, 2020), was an authorized medical marijuana user under Rhode Island’s compassionate use law, the Court found that his employer had “reasonable grounds” to believe that he was intoxicated while on the job, and therefore could be given a drug test – and terminated for refusing – consistent with the state’s separate drug testing law. That law permits employers to administer drug tests to current employees only under limited circumstances, one of which is if the employer has “reasonable grounds to believe” that based on “the employee’s appearance, behavior or speech that the employee may be under the influence of a controlled substance.”
The decision provides helpful guidance on how a state court might evaluate an employer’s judgment involving employee intoxication under similar statutes, such as those allowing employers to take adverse action against employees who are legally permitted to use medical marijuana, but are intoxicated while at work.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.