Legalized Marijuana Gives Hiring Managers a Headache

Wall Street Journal ^ | March 23, 2019 | Heather Haddon

[billorites]

Companies facing a shortage of employees from health-care workers to forklift operators are confronting a new challenge: finding candidates who can pass drug tests in states that have legalized marijuana.

Ten states and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana use. Lawmakers in Illinois, New Jersey, New York and elsewhere are pushing to do the same. More than 60% of Americans support legalization, according to Pew Research Center, double the rate in 2000.

Marijuana use has generated millions of dollars in additional tax revenue for states that have legalized its use. But job applicants in those states are also flunking drug tests at higher rates than the national average, according to Quest Diagnostics Inc., DGX -0.42% a major drug-screening provider. Applicants for transportation and warehouse jobs in California tested positive for marijuana use 60% more often in 2017 than in 2015, Quest said. California voted to legalize marijuana use in 2016.

Some employers say too little thought was put into the impact legalization would have on hiring and workplace safety.

“We have moving equipment, machinery, fork trucks that drive around,” said Chuck Tewell, human-resources director for Joseph’s Gourmet Pasta Co. in Massachusetts, where marijuana use was legalized in 2016. “The safety part is the major concern.”

Mr. Tewell said the company recently hired 100 temporary workers from neighboring New Hampshire for positions he was struggling to fill. That is nearly half of the company’s assembly line staff.

More than half of employers give drug tests to job applicants, according to a poll of 1,058 hiring managers by the Society for Human Resource Management. Some companies say the tests are important in preventing workplace accidents and avoiding legal disputes.

Other companies in states that have legalized marijuana are dropping marijuana from their screening tests or raising the threshold for failure.

[I want the USA back]

Not to worry. You think the leftist pot-pushing politicians haven’t thought about that? Give them a few years. They will change the law so you have to hire potheads. Yes. They have already made it compulsory to hire felons. This is coming.

[central_va]

Companies facing a shortage of employees from health-care workers to forklift operators because they refuse to raise wages and attract higher caliber candidate.

Fixed it.

[freedumb2003]

dang paywall

[central_va]

You get what you pay for. There is not a labor shortage only a wage shortage.

[rbg81]

Something tells me this is all part of The Plan

[billorites]

"dang paywall"

I know. Sorry.

You didn't miss much.

[central_va]

The GOP 2020 platform ( approved by the WSJ )

• Americans are lazy and drug addicts.
• America workers, that aren't drug addicts and lazy, are overpaid.
• Imported indentured labor(H-1B) is cheaper and more productive and we don't have to whip them.
• Rising wages are a crises that requires drastic action i.e. more imports!
• Tariffs are bad and income taxes are good.
• Wages can never be low enough.
• Eliminate the minimum wage and let in more illegals.

[no-to-illegals]

Wait till the lawmakers open up the entire pharmacy. That’s next

[Sooth2222]

Robots don’t need drug tests.

[wally_bert]

Very true about wage discrepancy.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Can I ask a stupid question?

How is it legal, to test for marijuana, and deny someone a job for marijuana use, in a state where it is legal?

If a person is using a legal substance, and is denied a job because of using a legal substance, is it time for lawsuits?

[NorseViking]

The hippy morons who smoked weed in the 1960s and now made their way on top are largely responsible for the figural idiocracy you see nowadays. Now they want it universally so that the movie would turn into an accurate documentary. And that would insure electing Marxist idiots for years to come.

[eyeamok]

The problem is that the way they test for pot use is stupid, maybe they should test for ALL Mood altering substances the same way. If you have Used Alcohol or ANY Prescription drug in the Past 2 months you FAIL, then they should drastically Expand their Testing to ALL Management and maybe even Stockholders, just to be fair. Maybe showing up with a Hangover should warrant Immediate Termination also.

Personally I don’t care if you smoke a little weed or drink a little AFTER WORK, Show up clean and Sober and do your job and don’t let you extra curricular activity affect your work habits.

[VTenigma]

Bingo! It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.

[PeterPrinciple]

Personally I don’t care if you smoke a little weed or drink a little AFTER WORK, Show up clean and Sober and do your job and don’t let you extra curricular activity affect your work habits.

---

The problem is if this employee causes an accident or death while on the job, who are they going to sue?

I would not own a business today.

[VTenigma]

In this state it’s illegal to drug test as a work requirement for seasonal jobs with the exception of CDL drivers (they fall under federal guidelines). Much of the work in VT is seasonal, so basically no drug testing. Although you can be tested after an incident.

[wrench]

Same as testing positive for alcohol. When they say “drugs don’t work here” they mean it.

I worked for years at a company that tested for drugs. Pre hire/employee, didn’t matter. You pop positive for Jack Danial’s or Bud Light and you were fired on the spot, or not hired if it was a pre-employment screen.

There are lots and lots of jobs that require drug screening before employment, and random testing once employed. Just because a drug is legal, that doesn’t mean you can use it and keep your job.

[AlaskaErik]

The good news...I can pass a drug test, a background check and I show up on time, all the time.

The bad news...I'm retired and have no desire to reenter the workforce.

[Does so]

If a person is using a legal substance, and is denied a job because of using a legal substance, is it time for lawsuits?

Lawyers favor legal Marijuana.