After years of debate and a change to the New Jersey Constitution, in February 2021 Governor signed into law the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act ( NJCREAMMA), in addition to related expenses that largely legalized making use of cannabis and hashish (both of which are derived from a cannabis plant). The new Legalization, which goes beyond 300 pages, is complicated and will be clarified in expected to be released by the NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
Here are a few of the important takeaways for employers about the recreational use of cannabis. Unless
(a) otherwise supplied by appropriate federal or New Jersey law,
(b) compliance with the new laws would cause an employer to violate a federal contract or lose federal funding:
- Employers can not take any negative action against candidates for work and employees based on their off-duty use of cannabis unless the use impairs their ability to perform their jobs while on duty. Employers are not required to accommodate the use or permit, being under the influence, ownership, sale, or transfer of cannabis in the office.
Employers can continue to forbid making use of cannabis or intoxication by employees during work hours and demand a drug- and alcohol-free office.
- When making employment choices, employers are not allowed to rely entirely on or need a candidate to reveal or take any adverse action versus a candidate solely based on any arrest, charge, conviction, or adjudication of delinquency for certain types of marijuana and hashish criminal offenses. (As a basic guideline, New Jersey employers can not depend on any arrest records, whether related to cannabis or not.)A rather unexpected provision in one of the new laws provides that if a court identifies that a person suffered discrimination in public or private real estate, or public area based on a previous arrest, charge, conviction, adjudication of delinquency for among those criminal offenses and, as a result, the individual’s employment was effected then the court is allowed to buy the employer to restore the individual to the same or comparable position, with full additional benefit and seniority rights, compensation for any lost wages and benefits, and the payment of legal costs and affordable costs.
- Employers can still check for the use of cannabis, but they will be required to comply with strict new regulations and the requirements of the Act.
- After the Cannabis Regulatory Commission provides its regulations, employers need to revise their work practices and policies as essential to abide by NJCREAMMA and train managers about the requirements of NJCREAMMA and the Honig Act.
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