New legislation in Florida would protect medical marijuana patients from discrimination in government jobs by preventing agencies from punishing public workers based solely on their legal use of cannabis.
The bill, HB 83, was introduced on Friday by Rep. Mitch Rosenwald (D). It would bar public employers from taking actions such as firing workers, refusing to hire a qualified applicant or demoting employees based on their medical marijuana use or registration.
To be clear, Rosenwald’s proposal is not intended to protect workplace impairment. Agencies could still take disciplinary action against people who are high on the job.
“A public employer may consider an employee’s ability to perform his or her job duties or responsibilities to be impaired if the employee displays specific, articulable symptoms while working which adversely affect the performance of his or her duties or responsibilities,” the legislation says.
Law enforcement agencies could also continue to restrict even off-duty medical marijuana use by police officers.
Public employers would also need to give written notice to employees and applicants informing them of their right to explain or contest a positive marijuana test result within a five-day period after receiving the result.
A separate bill introduced this time last year,
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