Two weeks ago, we wrote that the Oregon legislative session would begin this Wednesday, and that 28 proposed cannabis bills graced the legislatures website. Since that time, we caught wind of SB 301, a tidy little bill that would abolish the right of Oregon employers to fire their at will employeesfor off-duty cannabis use. To our knowledge, Oregon would be the first such state to take this step.
SB 301 is short, sweet and even subtle, as it refrains from mentioning the words cannabis or marijuana altogether. Instead, it amends an existing statute that prohibits an employer from mandating that any employee or prospective employee refrain from using lawful tobacco products during non-working hours. (Our emphasis.) Proposed SB 301 removes the lawful tobacco products language, and replaces it with language covering any substance that is lawful to use under the laws of this state. Of course, that includes pot.
Like most laws, proposed SB 301 does contain a couple of exceptions. In the first, an employer could require an employee to abstain off-hours when the restriction relates to a bona fide occupational qualification (think: safety). In the second exception, employers would still be free to can their employees for the performance of work while impaired. Obviously, this could apply to someone who dabs and then walks into work; but it could apply equally to someone who shows up high on prescription drugs, or drunk, or even hung over.
In the case of cannabis, we have written many timeshere and elsewhereabout the court-tested right of employers to fire their hapless employees for off-duty use. We have also wondered aloud: why do employers even care? As it stands, Oregon is one of many states that has ...
