New Jersey workers can’t be fired if they flunk a drug test because they are medical marijuana patients, a state appeals court has ruled.
The case is likely to reverberate in workplaces for years to come because a state appeals court says medical marijuana patients — as long as they are not using the drug or under the influence at work — are protected by the state Law Against Discrimination.
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There are 45,000 registered patients in the program with about 2,000 joining every month, according to the state Department of Health.
“The sweeping effect is you can no longer say, ‘You (tested) positive — you are outta here,’ ” said Maxine “Mickey” Neuhauser, an employment expert with the Newark office of the Epstein Becker and Green national law firm.
