5 Things For Employers (And Employees) To Know About Cannabis In The Workplace
MONCTON – Business people gathered in the Hub City last week to learn about policies they can implement come October 17, when recreational marijuana is set to become legal nationwide. Step One: Hire a lawyer to help you figure it out.
John Wishart, the CEO of Chamber of Commerce of Greater Moncton, which hosted the lunch event, said it aimed to give a crash course on pot policy for companies, especially small business operators who don’t have access to a lawyer or an in-house human resources department.
“I think there’s a certain amount of uncertainty still in the business community around their responsibilities and their obligations with October 17th coming,” he said. “It really reinforces the need to have a full drug and alcohol policy that covers cannabis, alcohol, prescription drugs…as we heard today, lots of different things can cause impairment. It’s just part of doing business today is having those policies in place.”
One of the areas of concern is the lack of an established cannabis impairment testing method. Wishart said the important thing is to balance workplace safety and individual rights. And companies need to review or develop policies to make that clear.
Lucie LaBoissonnière, an insurance and employment lawyer at McInnes Cooper, presented alongside Organigram HR Director Tina Shannon at the luncheon. Here are five things to consider in your workplace policy for cannabis use based on their talk:
1) Hire a lawyer
LaBoissonnière said since policies would differ from sector to sector, getting legal advice is the best way to begin.
“I work case by case. It’s going to have to be really customized to the workplace in question,” she said. “[Human Resources] professionals are able to do this, but because of the changing legal landscape, it’s probably best practice to get legal advice from somebody who focuses his practice or her practice on labour employment law.”
Having a clear policy on the use of cannabis in the workplace is important. Not only because employers can benefit from communicating expectations with employees, but also because safety is an obligation that employers must always keep top-of-mind, she said.
“I would argue that it’s worth the investment because you’re basically putting your foundation here for future monitoring,” she said. “Employers have very strict obligations under occupational health and safety legislation to provide a safe work environment. So I would say it would fall within those obligations, for which, I would remind you, a violation of that obligation opens companies up to charges under the occupational health and safety act and even the criminal code.”
2) Distinguish between medicinal and recreational marijuana
LaBoissonnière said medical marijuana and recreational marijuana are treated differently in the workplace because the former falls under human rights legislation and the latter doesn’t.
“I would say [medical marijuana] would be treated similarly to another type of medication with a prescription that might cause impairment. When it comes to the recreational use of cannabis, I would say that resembles much more the use of alcohol – a substance that can cause impairment and has no medical reason for it. Employers can prohibit the use at the workplace.”
Organigram has two different policies for medical cannabis and recreational cannabis, which falls under its drug and alcohol policy. The medical cannabis policy pertains to workers who need to medicate during work hours. For that, the onus is on the employee to come forward to HR and their manager to discuss their needs, which would generally be accommodated to the point of undue hardship.
Shannon said a plan would be drafted based on the frequency, dosage and length of time that the employee needs to medicate, as per the doctor’s orders. That’s then reassessed after a few months. Employees don’t have to disclose their diagnosis, but they’re also not allowed to share their medication. Those who need to medicate during work hours are restricted from safety-sensitive duties.
“We have an obligation to provide them with a safe place in which to use their medical cannabis, but we also have the right to ask that they only vape or ingest. So taking a joint to the parking lot or sitting in your car? Not acceptable,” Shannon said in her speech.
When it comes to safety-sensitive positions, LaBoissonnière said it’s “proper” for employers to ask workers to self-disclose their use of both medical and recreational cannabis.
Shannon said impairment by recreational cannabis would be a violation of Organigram’s drug and alcohol policy. So, when something like that happens, Organigram would send the worker home in a cab, with pay. They can then discuss repercussions with Shannon the next day.
3) Work with union representatives
For employers whose workers are unionized, it’s important that they work with union representatives to make sure the policy is balanced.
“Policies shouldn’t be unreasonable or inconsistent with the collective bargaining agreement. But you want to have a policy that’s clear. You want to give notice of revisions to existing policies,” LaBoissonnière said.
4) Know the signs
While some signs like bloodshot eyes, distinct odour and unusual behaviours can indicate marijuana use, Shannon said the best way to know is by having a conversation with the worker suspected of impairment.
“Impairment in any way, shape or form causes an issue at work. We have one word that we live by every day at Organigram, which is everybody’s safety comes first. So you go home in the same condition that you came in, albeit maybe a little bit more tired and possibly sweaty,” Shannon said.
Organigram also has around 1,700 cameras in its facilities, which helps monitor workers, in addition to floor supervisors.
LaBoissonnière said drug testing can also be done under some circumstances – pre-employment for safety-sensitive positions, for example. Or if the employer can show that the worker has a general problem with substance abuse in the workplace.
5) Have clear definitions
When creating workplace policies to cover cannabis, LaBoissonnière said employers should have clear definitions of what constitutes a workplace, for example.
For those who already have a policy in place, it’s a good time to revisit and revise, she said. Because zero tolerance policy for alcohol and illicit drugs wouldn’t capture cannabis come October 17.