A California Assembly committee has approved a Senate-passed bill that would prohibit employers from asking job applicants about prior marijuana use.
About a month after the legislation from Sen. Steven Bradford (D) advanced through the Senate, the Assembly Judiciary Committee approved the measure in an 8-2 vote on Wednesday. It previously cleared the Labor and Employment Committee last week and now heads to the Appropriations Committee before potentially moving to the floor.
The bill would build on existing employment protections enacted last session that bar employers from penalizing most workers for using cannabis in compliance with state law off the job.
“It is unlawful for an employer to request information from an applicant for employment relating to the applicant’s prior use of cannabis,” the bill text says.
Current law as enacted last year says that it is unlawful for employers “to discriminate against a person in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment, or otherwise penalizing a person, if the discrimination is based upon” off-duty marijuana use or drug tests that reveal cannabinoid metabolites.
There are exceptions to the policy for workers “in the building and construction trades,” as well as those that require federal background checks and security
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