Cable Company Accused of Discrimination Over Medical Marijuana Use

Prince Telecom Allegedly Refused to Hire an Employment Candidate Who Legally Used Medical Marijuana

MORRISTOWN, NJ – New Jersey's Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, backed by the Division on Civil Rights (DCR), has issued a Finding of Probable Cause against Prince Telecom LLC, alleging disability discrimination. This action follows a complaint where Prince Telecom is accused of denying employment to an applicant using medical marijuana legally to manage a disability.

According to the DCR, the telecommunications firm offered the applicant a position contingent on passing a drug test. Despite presenting a valid medical marijuana prescription, the offer was rescinded after a positive test for cannabis. This has raised serious questions about the company's compliance with the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), which mandates that employers accommodate disabilities unless doing so imposes an "undue hardship."

“New Jersey’s civil rights laws require that employers discuss how to develop accommodations that will allow employees with disabilities to perform their duties,” said Attorney General Platkin. “But this employer cut off all communication, refusing to even try to work with their candidate. Their failure to act violates the law, and we will not tolerate that.”

“Our laws provide strong protections against discrimination based on disability. Those protections mean that employers can’t discriminate against employees based on their treatment for a disability, including their use of marijuana to treat or alleviate the symptoms of a disability,” said Sundeep Iyer, Director of the Division on Civil Rights.

The LAD stipulates an "interactive process" between employers and employees or candidates with disabilities to explore possible accommodations. DCR's investigation suggests that Prince Telecom failed to engage in this process. Instead, they outright rejected the application based on the drug test result, without considering potential accommodations.

This case highlights the ongoing tension between state-mandated disability accommodations and employer drug policies, especially as they pertain to medical marijuana. Under the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act and the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (CREAMMA), adverse employment actions based solely on cannabis use are prohibited, adding layers of protection for registered medical marijuana users.

Prince Telecom, which argued that accommodating the applicant's cannabis use would be excessively burdensome, was unable to substantiate its claim, thus failing to demonstrate why the company couldn't provide the needed accommodation. The DCR's Finding of Probable Cause does not conclude the legal proceedings but opens the door for either conciliation or further legal action if a settlement is not reached.

This development serves as a critical reminder to New Jersey employers about their obligations under the LAD and the robust protections it offers to employees with disabilities, including those who use medical marijuana legally.