Last updated : December 16, 2024
The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation recently published its position on the BWC and its programs relative to medical marijuana, and states that the impact is “limited. It does not adversely affect the Drug-free Safety Program, will not require BWC to pay for patient access to marijuana, and expressly states that an employee under the influence of marijuana is not covered by workers’ compensation.”
This is excellent news for employers that have been concerned about whether or not they would need to accept medical marijuana as part of their policy based upon House Bill 523 taking effect on September 8, 2016. As an employer, the time to be proactive is now. The BWC states “the best way employers can protect their workers and themselves is to establish a drug-free workplace, or, if they already have one, to review and update it if necessary. This is important because certain sections of the new law reference the use of medical marijuana in violation of an employer’s drug-free workplace policy, zero-tolerance policy or other formal program or policy regulating the use of medical marijuana.”
Workplace Limitations
You are permitted to terminate, refuse promotion, refuse hiring and take other disciplinary measures if an employee is found to be under the influence of marijuana. In cases where fine motor skills, unimpaired judgment and a clear mental state are essential, you have the right as an employer to impose limitations. However, these limitations must be set out in advance in order to protect you from lawsuits, both internally from employees and externally from those an employee under the influence may inadvertently harm.
Legal Limits
The Drug Enforcement Agency continues to rate marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, keeping it in the same class as heroin, LSD and bath salts and acknowledging its potential dangers. The federal government does not recognize states’ legalization of marijuana, and you have the right to deny reimbursement under workers’ compensation guidelines for medical marijuana. As well, individuals are still prohibited from smoking marijuana under the new legalization — only oils, edibles, tinctures, and vaporization are currently allowed as delivery methods.
Your Liability Limits
For workers’ compensation to fund a prescription, a registered pharmacist working in an enrolled provider must administer it. Since medical marijuana is currently set to only be administered by retail marijuana dispensaries, this regulation alone means you will be unlikely to need to reimburse any employees who use medical marijuana. As well, the fact that the DEA continues to list marijuana as a potentially dangerous illegal drug also keeps you from being required to pay for its dispersal to employees. Further, there is a list of medications the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation allows reimbursement for known as the pharmaceutical formulary — which does not include marijuana in any form.
You are permitted to drug test employees, and if they are found to have THC in their systems you can take proactive disciplinary measures in many cases. Smoking marijuana is still illegal and can be punished to the point of prosecution, as well as if an employee distributes marijuana. The most major limiting factor you need to be aware of as an employer is that you must have proactive policies in place beforehand.
While medical marijuana is legal in some forms, you have the right to take disciplinary action against employees who use if your existing policies allow for this. Marijuana use can hinder judgment and motor skills, which can make its use dangerous, particularly for workers in safety-sensitive positions. Federal government policies allow you to refuse reimbursement and discipline employees for marijuana use, provided you have drug-free policies in place.
