Pennsylvania Appellate Court Provides Guidance To Employers As To When They May Terminate An Employee For Being Under The Influence Of Legal Medical Marijuana In The Workplace
April 22, 2024
By: Carl L. Engel
The Pennsylvania Superior Court this week, in the case Kopinetz v. Waste Management and Processors, Inc., reversed a trial court that had dismissed a worker’s lawsuit against his employer for terminating him in violation of the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act. The Superior Court found that the worker had alleged that he’d been terminated because his employer had an internal policy against employing legal medical-marijuana users, which is a violation of the Act, and not because he’d failed a random drug test at work. However, even though the Superior Court found that the worker was not fired because of the drug test, it provided valuable guidance in its commentary regarding when employers may terminate an employee for being “under the influence of marijuana in the workplace,” and when doing so would violate the Act. As the Superior Court emphasized, a legal medical-marijuana user may only be terminated for being “under the influence of marijuana in the workplace” when his marijuana use has caused his performance to fall “below the standard of care normally accepted” for his position. If the use of medical marijuana does not negatively affect the employee’s performance of his job duties, an employer may not terminate him for being “under the influence of marijuana” at work.
In November of 2015, Waste Management hired Michael Kopinetz as a loader. While he was employed there, he suffered from a “lower degenerative back condition” and carpel tunnel syndrome. In January of 2021, with the authorization of his medical provider, Mr. Kopinetz was issued a valid Medical Marijuana Card for treatment of these conditions.
In June of 2021, Waste Management selected Mr. Kopinetz for a drug test. Mr. Kopinetz did not disclose to the third-party administrator of the drug test that he was legally permitted to use medical marijuana. A week later, Waste Management called Mr. Kopinetz into a meeting at its offices where he was informed that the drug test had revealed a positive result for marijuana use. Mr. Kopinetz at that time informed Waste Management that he was legally permitted to use medical marijuana and had a valid Medical Marijuana Card.
Waste Management suspended Mr. Kopinetz immediately, and he was told that the company needed time to review its “policy” with respect to legal medical-marijuana users. Several weeks later, he was contacted by one of the company’s human-resources employees, who informed him that he was terminated for using marijuana, even though he’d done so legally and with his medical provider’s authorization.
In the spring of 2023, Mr. Kopinetz filed a lawsuit against Waste Management based on the above-mentioned allegations, claiming that the company had violated the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act. Specifically, he pled that the company violated § 10231.2103(b)(1) of the Act, which states that an employer may not terminate an employee “solely on the basis of such employee’s status as an individual who is certified to use medical marijuana.”
Waste Management moved to dismiss Mr. Kopinetz’s complaint, arguing that it had fired him because he’d failed a drug test, and not because he’s “an individual certified to use medical marijuana.” Waste Management also relied on § 10231.2103(b)(2) of the Act, which provides that the Act “shall in no way limit an employer’s ability to discipline an employee for being under the influence of medical marijuana in the workplace or for working while under the influence of medical marijuana when the employee’s conduct falls below the standard of care normally accepted for that position.” Waste Management argued that the positive drug test had “established that Mr. Kopinetz was under the influence of marijuana in the workplace, for which he was appropriately disciplined and terminated from employment.”
On August 24, 2023, the trial court dismissed Mr. Kopinetz’s complaint, because he hadn’t disclosed his Medical Marijuana Card to Waste Management until after he’d failed the drug test, which indicated that the company couldn’t have targeted him based on his having a Medical Marijuana Card. Mr. Kopinetz appealed.
On April 19, 2024, the Superior Court reversed the trial court. In reaching its decision, the Superior Court observed that Mr. Kopinetz had alleged that Waste Management had suspended him, so it could review its “policy” regarding the employment of legal medical-marijuana users, before terminating him. Therefore, his complaint “specifically alleged that Waste Management terminated him not because of the positive drug test, but because he was a medical-marijuana cardholder.” For that reason, it was an error for the trial court to dismiss Mr. Kopinetz’s complaint, and he should be allowed to take discovery into his claims.
The Superior Court also provided additional guidance to employers, in a footnote, regarding the termination of a legal medical-marijuana user for being “under the influence of marijuana in the workplace.” Specifically, it emphasized that, even if an employee is under the influence of marijuana in the workplace, they may only be terminated “when the employee’s conduct falls below the standard of care normally accepted for that position.” Put simply, an employer can’t fire a legal medical-marijuana using employee unless being under the influence has caused the employee’s work to suffer. The Superior Court observed that nothing in Mr. Kopinetz’s complaint had suggested that his performance at work had diminished such that Waste Management could fire him for falling “below the standard of care.”