California bill bans most employer screens for marijuana. Will Gov. Gavin Newsom sign it?
California employers could soon be barred in many cases from screening for marijuana use in hiring or firing people.
State lawmakers on Tuesday sent Assembly Bill 2188 to Gov. Gavin Newsom. If he signs it into law, it would go into effect Jan. 1, 2024.
AB 2188, authored by Assemblyman Bill Quirk, D-Hayward, makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate in hiring, firing or setting conditions of employment based on cannabis use off the job and away from the workplace. However, the law carves out certain exemptions, including employees in the building and construction trades and applicants for, or employees in, positions requiring federal background investigation or clearance.
The ban covers testing hair, blood, urine or other bodily fluids.
“When most employers conduct a drug test, they typically screen for the presence of nonpsychoactive cannabis metabolites, which can remain present in an individual’s bodily fluids for weeks after cannabis use and do not indicate impairment,” Quirk said in a statement. “While there is consensus that no one should ever show up to work high or impaired, testing positive for this metabolite has no correlation to workplace safety or productivity.”
The bill bans those kinds of tests, while maintaining employers’ rights to test for THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.
“Testing for THC may indicate an individual is impaired at work and is a better way to maintain work place safety,” Quirk said.
The bill expands upon a 2021 State Personnel Board decision which found a positive urine test for marijuana is not, in itself, grounds for dismissal from state employment. That decision was prompted after a CalTrans employee appealed his firing after testing positive for THC upon his return from a leave of absence.
Newsom has until the end of September to sign or veto the bill.
This story was originally published August 30, 2022 at 5:00 PM with the headline "California bill bans most employer screens for marijuana. Will Gov. Gavin Newsom sign it?."