An amendment to the state’s constitution has been ratified in New Jersey that permits the recreational use of marijuana and on December 17, 2020, the New Jersey Legislature passed the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (NJCREAMMA), removing marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, legalizing its use for adults older than 21. The state becomes the first to explicitly protect employees who engage in off-work marijuana use from adverse employment action and to limit an employer’s ability to act on the basis of a positive marijuana test after employment has started. The new law calls for the creation of a commission that will be comprised of five members responsible for promulgating the regulations and overseeing the development, regulation and enforcement of activities associated with both medical and recreational marijuana use. Although employers cannot refuse to hire any person or discharge or take any adverse action against an employee because they do, or do not, use cannabis products, under NJCREAMMA, employers may employees to submit to drug tests under specific circumstances. It is unclear, however, how employers may act upon test results.
