Lawmakers in Wisconsin don’t expect a measure to create a medical marijuana program to survive. The legal status of various products in the state, however, implicates a number of important legal issues for employers, including disability accommodation, drug testing, and workplace health and safety. Residents of Wisconsin are known to cross lines into bordering states to obtain marijuana. The Wisconsin Fair Employment Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of an employee’s use or nonuse of lawful products off the employer’s premises during nonworking hours; however, a statutory exception to the provision provides that the use of lawful products is not protected if it conflicts with any federal law. In fact, the state’s Department of Workforce Development has taken the position that employers have the right to terminate any employee who tests positive. Employers should consider an employee’s lawful use of CBD and hemp products and should closely follow developments on the use of delta-8 and delta-9.
