Two separate bills designed to protect marijuana consumers who are seeking employment and those who are already employed both take effect in California in just five days.
Senate Bill 700, signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in October, takes effect on January 1. The new law makes it unlawful “for an employer to request information from an applicant for employment relating to the applicant’s prior use of cannabis.”
The measure would not apply to applicants or employees hired for positions that require a federal government background investigation or security clearance.
Also set to take effect on January 1 is Assembly Bill 2188, which was signed into law by Governor Newsom in 2022.
According to its official legislative summary, AB 2188 would “make it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment, or otherwise penalize a person, if the discrimination is based upon the person’s use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace”.
The bill exempts “certain applicants and employees from the bill’s provisions, including employees in the building and construction trades and applicants and employees in positions requiring a federal background investigation or clearance, as specified”.
According to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, California garnered $269.3 million in taxes from the legal distribution of marijuana in the third quarter of this year. During that period there was around $1.1 billion in marijuana and marijuana products purchased.
