by Nicola Middlemiss
On April 13, the federal government made a
significant step towards legalizing marijuana when it introduced the
Cannabis Act – however, while the amendment has been praised by many,
some employers have been left wondering how their workplace drug
policies will stand up.
“Employers are currently assessing what the proposed legislation means
for them and their business,” says Daryl Cukierman, a partner with
corporate law firm Blake, Cassels & Graydon.
“If the legislation passes, it can be expected that employee attitudes
may change regarding what constitutes acceptable workplace behaviour,”
he warns.
While employee attitudes may change, employer expectations might not
have to – Cukierman says organizations will still be within their rights
to ban the use of recreational cannabis in the workplace.
“The Cannabis Act does not require an employer to allow employees to use
cannabis for recreational purposes at work,” says Cukierman.
“Employers will therefore continue to have the ability to prohibit the
use of recreational cannabis in the workplace.”
That doesn’t mean, however, that current policies can stay the same.
“Employer expectations about the relationship between cannabis use and
the workplace should be clearly communicated to employees, and updates
to workplace policies may be required,” Cukierman tells HRM.
According to the Toronto-based employment lawyer,
examples of workplace policies which should be reviewed include those
related to possession and use of alcohol and drugs at work, those
related to reporting the use of drugs for medical purposes that could
lead to potential impairment, drug and alcohol testing policies, occupational health
and safety policies related to both smoking at work and workplace
impairment, vehicle use policies, and client entertainment and social
host policies.
Cukierman says drug testing policies may become particularly pertinent
if the Cannabis Act leads to increased usage by employees – however, he
says employers must be wary of violating employment law.
“As with testing for other substances that can impair an employee's
ability to perform his or her duties safely and effectively, employers
seeking to implement cannabis testing should carefully consider the
legality of the testing and the testing methods to be used,” he says.
If passed, the Cannabis Act is likely to come into force at some point
before July 1, 2018 – while it’s still some time away, Cukierman urges
employers to begin their review process now.
“Employers would be wise to start considering now if they need to be
implementing any changes to their workplace policies and procedures in
preparation for the new legislation,” he tells HRM.
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