Pre-Employment Marijuana Testing in District of Columbia

Since that time, Washington D.C. passed a permanent law that is identical to the “Prohibition of Pre-Employment Marijuana Testing Emergency Act of 2014.”  This law became permanent on January 8, 2016.

As a reminder of the substance of the law, an employer may only test a prospective employee for marijuana use after a conditional offer of employment has been extended. The only exception is when drug testing is otherwise required by law.

Nothing in this law will:

1. Affect employee compliance with employer workplace drug policies;
2. Require an employer to permit or accommodate the use, consumption, possession, transfer, display, transportation, sale, or growing of marijuana in the workplace or at any time during employment;
3. Interfere with federal employment contracts; or
4. Prevent the employer from denying a position based on a positive test of marijuana.

D.C. Code §32-931 is available here for review:
http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/dccode/

backgroundchecks.com Compliance Update dated February 5, 2015 about Washington D.C.: http://www.backgroundbiz.com/compliance/complianceupdate_02052015.html

What this update means for you:

• All employers, except United States government or its agencies, in the District of Columbia are prohibited from testing prospective employees for marijuana until after a conditional offer of employment has been made.
• This law makes permanent the previously temporary law on the same subject.