Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press
Californians who use medical marijuana outside of work would be protected from job dismissal due to pot use under a bill that has been introduced by state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco. The bill, SB129, would make it illegal for an employer to consider either a worker’s status as a registered patient or a positive drug test when making hiring and firing decisions. The bill would not change existing laws that bar employees from using medical marijuana at the workplace or during work hours.
Workers such as health care providers, school bus drivers and operators of heavy equipment – so-called “safety-sensitive positions” – would not be protected by the law.
“The bill simply establishes a medical cannabis patient’s right to work,” Leno said. He called it “a completely reasonable piece of legislation. It astounds me that there would be any controversy around it.”
Read complete article here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/28/BAQV1HFPNH.DTL
Mark Leno’s bill would ban employers from considering a worker’s status as a registered medical marijuana patient or a positive drug test when making hiring and firing decisions.
Californians who use medical marijuana outside of work would be protected from job dismissal due to pot use under a bill that has been introduced by state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco. The bill, SB129, would make it illegal for an employer to consider either a worker’s status as a registered patient or a positive drug test when making hiring and firing decisions. The bill would not change existing laws that bar employees from using medical marijuana at the workplace or during work hours.
Workers such as health care providers, school bus drivers and operators of heavy equipment – so-called “safety-sensitive positions” – would not be protected by the law.
“The bill simply establishes a medical cannabis patient’s right to work,” Leno said. He called it “a completely reasonable piece of legislation. It astounds me that there would be any controversy around it.”
Read complete article here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/28/BAQV1HFPNH.DTL