NEW JERSEY SUPREME COURT RECOGNIZES MEDICAL MARIJUANA USER’S DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION CLAIM

New Jersey legalized medical marijuana in 2010 and recreational marijuana in 2021. However, marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, which creates problems in employment matters.

On March 10, 2020, the New Jersey Supreme Court in Wild v. Carriage House Funeral Holdings, Inc. ruled that employees who legally use medical marijuana under the Compassionate Use Act may not be fired because they use medical marijuana and that such employees are entitled to reasonable compensation under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. Wild v. Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc., 241 N.J. 285, 2020 (N.J. March 10, 2020). Wild was a licensed funeral home director at Carriage House Funeral Home. While working at a funeral, Wild was involved in a car accident and taken to the hospital. He was not administered a drug test because he had a license to possess medical marijuana. Wild had not previously told his employer of his use of medical marijuana and after learning of it, Carriage House terminated his employment.

Wild sued alleging disability discrimination and failure to accommodate under the LAD. The Court stated that before the enactment of the Compassionate Use Act, Wild would not have a claim, but that the law opened the door to such claims. The Court noted that the Compassionate Use Act states “that the Act shall not be construed to permit a person to a operate, navigate or be in actual physical control of any vehicle, aircraft, railroad train, stationary heavy machinery, or vessel while under the influence of marijuana.” The Court went on to state, that if the circumstance implicates one or both of those provisions of the Compassionate Use Act, the Act will have an impact on that claim.

If an applicant or employee who tests positive for cannabis shows that the individual is a licensed New Jersey medical cannabis user, the Supreme Court’s decision establishes that employers must consider whether the employee’s medical marijuana use can be reasonably accommodated.