Sarah Turner, partner in Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani's Seattle office, presented at "Marijuana Initiative and Workforce Impact," a webinar sponsored by The State Bar of Arizona’s Construction Law Section on Tuesday, September 29.
This 90-minute live webinar examined the future implications of cannabis in the workplace in Arizona. In November, Arizona voters will vote on Prop 207, The Smart and Safe Arizona Act, which if passed, allows Arizona to join 11 other states and D.C. who have legalized the recreational use of cannabis.
Turner's presentation had three distinctive sections. First, she summarized the United States history of the legalization of cannabis, the conflict between federal and state laws, a summary of federal legislation that will have been voted on by the House of Representatives during the week of September 21, and an overview of Arizona's medicinal marijuana laws and Prop 207. The second part of the presentation focused on how employers should address off-duty cannabis use by its employees, accommodating employees who use cannabis for medical purposes, and whether zero tolerance drug policies and drug testing for cannabis should still be applied in an employment setting. The final part of the presentation concluded with best practices for the employers to apply when presented with a cannabis-related issue.
Turner is a partner with the Employment and Cannabis practice groups in the Seattle and Portland office of Gordon & Rees. She litigates in state and federal trial and appellate courts. Her practice also includes counseling, training, and representing clients on a broad range of employment law issues, including hiring, review, and termination procedures, workplace investigations, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage and hour law.
Her practice with the Cannabis group includes counseling and training employers on state regulations and how to navigate their respective medicinal and recreational cannabis laws, reviewing and drafting drug and alcohol policies, and representing businesses and individuals in cannabid-related breach of contract and partnership disputes.
To learn more about the Gordon & Rees Cannabis, CBD & Hemp practice group, please click here.