Colorado high court rules employees can be fired for smoking pot outside of work

[n2doc]

Pot may be legal in Colorado, but you can still be fired for using it.

The state Supreme Court ruled Monday that a medical marijuana patient who was fired after failing a drug test cannot get his job back. The case has big implications for employers and pot smokers in states that have legalized medical or recreational marijuana.

Colorado became the first state to legalize recreational pot in 2012. Though the case involves medical marijuana, the court's decision could also affect how companies treat employees who use the drug recreationally.

Brandon Coats is a quadriplegic who was fired by Dish Network after failing a drug test in 2010. The company agreed that Coats wasn't high on the job but said it has a zero-tolerance drug policy.

more

http://mashable.com/2015/06/15/colorado-employees-smoking-pot/

[Agnosticsherbet]

1. People can be fired by private businesses for saying the wrong thing outside of work.

because business is not required to recognize Freedom of Speech. This does not surprise me at all.

[B Calm]

2. A pee test doesn't prove the worker is impaired. This is so wrong!

[fredamae]

3. IF these "judges" had

Any smarts and were in fact...Unbiased...they'd have used common sense and Science.

Science affirms.....Metabolites Do stay in ones system for Weeks...but the Effects from consumption wear off in a mere 2-3 Hours post use!

[AuntPatsy]

4. kicking

[LoveIsNow]

5. This should have been covered in the text of the law.

Either the legislature will have to add protections for employees, or it will have to be done by initiative. There are obviously many jobs that are not affected by off-the-job marijuana use.

[Ruby the Liberal]

16. Its not that easy

The challenge presented to the court was that if an employer can't prove a "drug-free workplace", then they are ineligible for federal contracts. No policy in place, no bidding.

The reason for this is because the feds still hold to Schedule I and illegality. If the feds would ever BACK THE FUCK OFF of that Nixonian bullshit, then cannabis wouldn't even be an issue any longer - they wouldn't drug test for it (outside of impairment on the job) as it would be treated like alcohol.

[safeinOhio]

6. Wouldn't this law cover that

Americans with Disabilities Act

[GreatGazoo]

7. I see what you did there

Colorado high court

[tridim]

8. And with that Cannabis is NOT legal in Colorado.

Or anywhere else if it stands.

So drink up everyone, poisoning yourself is perfectly legal and is encouraged by business!!!11

[n2doc]

9. It will be interesting to see how this changes the job market

Hard ass employers are going to have a hard time finding employees.

[tridim]

10. Especially creative types.

[drm604]

11. So this man lost his job because he used medicine to relieve his muscle spasms.

Muscle spasms can be excruciating and debilitating and now this man is faced with choosing between pain relief and being able to eat and pay his bills. He probably can't even collect unemployment because of the way he was fired. This is despicable.

Maybe we need a national boycott of Dish Network.

[tridim]

12. If you are employed, it is now unconsitutional to treat pain with natural medicine.

We need to boycott stupidity, because this is flat out stupid.

Might as well make caffeine illegal at work. See how that one goes over with workers.

[CrispyQ]

13. This makes no sense.

They want the revenue that legal weed generates but they don't want people smoking it.

I checked with a placement agency & they told me 90% of their clients drug test for weed before hiring. It's the low hanging fruit of the drug world since it stays in your system so long & is widely available.

[mountain grammy]

14. Dish is an evil corporation if there ever was one..

They fire a quadriplegic who had worked for them for three years with not a problem?

If I had Dish I would cancel it today! Corporations suck!

[B Calm]

15. I have Dish internet. My 2 yr contract is up next month. When I cancel

and switch to HughesNet I will tell them it's because they fired a Dish employee in Colorado who had a medical marijuana card.

[Ruby the Liberal]

17. The chances were slim, and maybe thats not all bad

Yes, Dish screwed this guy, but hear me out.

The counter-argument was about a company being ineligible for federal contracts if they didn't have an iron-clad 'drug free workplace' gold star on their refrigerator.

This isn't about the CO Supremes, or even the dicks over at Dish. This is about the feds.

The items they look for in drug tests mirror the fed's own drug schedule. If cannabis was lowered (or for the hell of it, removed completely as any sane society would do), then it wouldn't be on the piss test list (like nicotine)

So why is this positive? Add it to the list of what cannabis businesses face: discrimination in renting real estate, being rated for insurance, and most awesomely, not being allowed to open a bank account so they have to (i) pay their suppliers/employees in cash and (ii) make an appointment to bring a bag of cash to the IRS every quarter (seriously).

If nothing else, and on the grand scale of eternal optimism, this might not be the straw that forces the feds to deal with this, but it may potentially be the straw before that one.

[hill800]

18. A QUESTION (unrelated, sort of)

My question, asked with concern, is: WHERE IS n2doc?

This thread is on n2doc's last post, dated June 15th. I've been following n2doc's posts almost daily for several years, and in that time, I never remember more than a couple of days without a post (usually weekends). Needless to say, the reality check on my corporate-owned daily newspaper is severely limited without n2doc's range of articles and political cartoons.

Does anyone have any info? My hope, of course is that n2doc is healthy, happy, and merely is on a no-wifi vacation... Eager for information! Will keep checking. Thanks!

[Rhiannon12866]

19. He posted on Monday that he was going to have a busy week, no time for cartoons

Which are obviously time consuming. But he is back today with more cartoons and I agree that he always posts great stuff. Welcome to DU!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026876617

[hill800]

21. Thanks! (whew)

Darn - I obviously missed his post. Thank you so much for the update and the welcome!

[Rhiannon12866]

22. You're more than welcome!

I love the cartoons, too, and they're very popular here. If you're ever looking for them, they can usually be found on The Greatest Page! Here's another one, in case you missed it. So glad to have you with us!


http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026878500

[RussBLib]

20. this sucks - hope they appeal - n/t