The Effects of Marijuana Legalization on the Workplace in 2020

With states coming in terms of workplace adaption of medical marijuana, there have been certain changes in the legalization of marijuana following its implementation at the workplace in the year 2020. From the days of “Just Say No,” the majority of states in the United States have legalized medical, if not recreational, marijuana. Many of these states also have anti-discrimination provisions protecting the employment of cannabis users. Even federal contractors are not necessarily exempt from these state protections. As such, all employers must be aware of the impact of these laws on their workplaces. This webinar unveils the latest updates affecting the legal aspect of marijuana consumption at the workplace in the year 2020.

• Understanding federal laws
• Understanding the possibilities of changes in the law in 2020
• Understanding state law, including the:
• Legalization of cannabis
• Anti-discrimination laws 
• Exploring the case law that is changing our perspectives of drugs and the workplace, including implicitly protected classes and drug-free workplaces
• Discussion about the differences between legal and illegal cannabis use in workplace policies and procedures
• Addressing common law privacy concerns
• Key tools on best practices:
• Workplace drug and alcohol policies
• Drug testing systems 
• Other related policies and changes in 2020

• Overview of federal laws and bills on cannabis in 2020
• Legal discussion on:
• CSA
• ADA
• FMLA
• State Medical cannabis laws (MMAs)
• State recreational cannabis laws and updates in 2020
• State Laws Against Discrimination (LADs)
• Common-law privacy concerns for the year 2020
• Workplace policy considerations
• Drug testing policy considerations
• Best practices

This program will provide oversight of the current status of federal and state law, explore the case law that is changing the face of marijuana in our workplace in 2020, and provide key tools for addressing the challenges of cannabis and its users in the work environment.

• HR
• CEO
• Managers

Deirdre Kamber Todd, Esq., is a partner with The Kamber Law Group, P.C., a next-generation law firm located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. With fifteen years of experience, Deirdre focuses her practice on labor and employment law, social media and technology law, HIPAA, and business law. Specific areas of her employment law practice include discrimination, wage and hour, restrictive covenants, business contracts, unemployment compensation, LGBT issues, labor disputes, FMLA, military leave, social media litigation, information privacy and technology, agency compliance, and medical record privacy.  

Her clients include companies, non-profits, governmental entities, and individuals. Her work includes consultative and legal services, from outsourced HR and social media services to hearings, litigation, and appellate work. She also regularly provides training and education for companies and individuals. She is licensed to practice in New York, Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Supreme Court, and she also has been admitted as an expert witness in social media and networking. 

Deirdre is the recipient of a number of awards and recognitions: she was selected as one of the “Top 20 Under 40” by the Pennsylvania Business Journal, she received the Ethics Award from the New York State Bar Association, she received a grant from the Public Justice Foundation for her pro bono work on HIV/AIDS, and she was recently nominated as one of the top twenty-five women of influence in the Lehigh Valley. 

Aside from the practice of law, she serves as the President and Diversity Chair for Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) Lehigh Valley. She currently teaches as an adjunct professor at DeSales University in the MBA Program in both the HR and Healthcare Concentrations. She has earned her Juris Doctor from Hofstra University School of Law, a distinguished master’s degree in International Studies from the University of Limerick, in Limerick, Ireland, and a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University.