Legislation to prohibit the workplace discrimination of medical marijuana patients has been scheduled for a public hearing in the Hawaii Legislature.
House Bill 325, filed last week by eight lawmakers, will have a public hearing held on January 28 at 9:00AM in House conference room 309 via videoconference. The hearing will be held by the House Labor and Public Employment Committee.
The proposed law would establish explicit workplace protections for registered medical marijuana patients while maintaining safety standards for specific occupations. Employees would be prohibited from taking adverse actions, including termination or refusal to hire, based solely on an individual’s status as a registered medical marijuana patient or a positive drug test for marijuana metabolites, provided the individual is not impaired during work hours.
House Bill 325 includes exemptions for positions deemed safety-sensitive, such as law enforcement, emergency medical services, and roles involving vulnerable populations. Employers in these fields would retain the right to enforce drug-free policies and use fit-for-duty assessments to evaluate impairment.
Hawaii legalized medical marijuana in 2000, with the first licensed dispensaries launching in 2015.
