WA Senate passes bill prohibiting some employers from discriminating against cannabis users
Some employers in Washington state would no longer be allowed to discriminate against applicants for their cannabis use outside of work under a bill passed by the state Senate Wednesday.
The bill was introduced by Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, and passed with a 28-21 vote.
She told Senate lawmakers on the floor Wednesday she believes the legislation could address the “lingering effects of the unfortunate War on Drugs that we have had so much damage from.”
“Perfectly legal cannabis use outside of the workplace can leave metabolites in your body fat and they can be picked up weeks after use in a drug test,” Keiser told legislators. “They have no relationship with your status of impairment or not. It’s not like alcohol, it’s an after-the-fact situation. It simply doesn’t make sense to base an employment decision on that kind of unreliable outcome and test.”
Keiser said it comes down to discrimination against job applicants who legally use cannabis. The legislation only applies to pre-employment screenings, it doesn’t apply to an employer’s on-the-job policies after an employee is hired, she noted.
“This opens doors for people who might not otherwise apply,” Keiser said.
Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, proposed an amendment to the bill that was adopted on the Senate floor to address concerns about “safety-sensitive positions.” The amendment requires employers to identify those positions before taking applications.
King voted in favor of Keiser’s bill, which will now head to the House. No one who voted against the bill spoke.
Washington became the first state to legalize recreational cannabis for adults 21 and older through an initiative on the ballot in 2012. The state is one of 21 total states where recreational cannabis is legal.
Tetrahydrocannabinol, more commonly known as THC, can be detected through urine tests for several days, sometimes even weeks, after usage, depending on how much a user consumes as well as other factors such as body fat percentages. THC is the compound in cannabis that gets users “high.”
If passed by the House and signed by Gov. Jay Inslee, the legislation would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024.
The last day of the legislative session is April 23.
