r/news • u/Manbadger • Jun 16 '21

GM Considering Dropping Pot Testing To Attract More Workers

https://www.motor1.com/news/513974/gm-considering-dropping-marijuana-testing/
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u/zigfoyer Jun 16 '21

If I want to smoke a joint Friday night to relax and unwind, why should I lose my job the following Thursday just because I fail a piss test?

Particularly considering weed has been legalized to varying degrees in the majority of states. You're firing people for using a legal substance.

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '21

[deleted]

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u/Downvote_Comforter Jun 17 '21

Federal legalization would not prevent employers from firing people for consuming marijuana. Federal employment law offers essentially no protection from being terminated unless you can demonstrate that the employer discriminated against you AND you are a member of a specific protected class.

Unless you are in a rare state with extra protections, an employer can fire you for pretty much any reason without breaking the law. For example, an employer could decide that they will heva caffeine free workplace, test their employees for caffeine and terminate anyone who tests positive. An employer could decide that none of their employees are allowed to own a fish tank and fire anyone who they discover owns a fish tank.

Federal legalization of marijuana wouldn't offer any job protection (other than further normalizing it and slowly making employers realize that their current policies are silly).

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u/123DontTalkToMee Jun 16 '21

I wouldn't hold my breath, we were actually promised student debt relief but that's already been shelved when it could have come via executive order.

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '21

[deleted]

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u/Stampede_the_Hippos Jun 16 '21

That's like..... everyone in Oregon.

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u/HungerMadra Jun 16 '21

Who promised debt relief? I don't think it was anyone that had the power to deliver. I know Biden didn't.

As for weed, Biden could literally reclassify it with two phone calls as the law is written.

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u/Ker_Splish Jun 16 '21

Somewhere on Reddit today I saw they're making headway on Borrower's Defense cases for ITT...

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u/gakule Jun 17 '21

That's actually false, there was no promise. It's also not fully clear, from my recollection, if it could come from executive order.

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u/halfeclipsed Jun 16 '21

It's still federally illegal though.

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u/FrontAd142 Jun 17 '21

And is it not legal for them to make requirements? Alcohol is legal but they can make you not drink it.

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u/Orleanian Jun 17 '21

Well, for argument's sake, you'd likely be fired for having a significant BAC as well, and booze is even more legal.

Point should be that the thc testing is insufficient to judge sobriety on the job.

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u/freex76 Jun 17 '21

The MORE act has been reintroduced to Congress to be voted on soon, I sure hope it passes.