By Barbara Hoberock, Oklahoma Voice
OKLAHOMA CITY – House lawmakers on Thursday defeated a measure that would give employers more leeway to fire individuals for using medical marijuana.
Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, the author, said House Bill 3127 would not force employers to do anything, but would give them discretion to classify additional jobs as “safety-sensitive” beyond what is in law. State law allows businesses to prohibit employees from using marijuana who work in “safety-sensitive” jobs based on drug testing.
Existing law classifies “safety-sensitive jobs” as those that require operating vehicles, machines and power tools, carrying a firearm and providing direct care to patients or children, among other duties.
West said nothing in the bill says that if a person tests positive, they are out of a job.
He said he would be shocked if employers began listing all jobs as “safety-sensitive.”
If every business implemented classified every job as “safety-sensitive,” they would not be able to find individuals to hire, West said.
Over 315,000 Oklahomans hold medical marijuana licenses, state records show.
Critics cited concerns about the legality and the potential impact on employees who have a doctor’s prescription to legally use the drug. They argued existing law already has broad categories for “safety-sensitive” jobs and questioned the necessity of expanding it.
Rep. Chris Kannady, R-Oklahoma City, said marijuana can stay in a person’s system for weeks.
Rep. Erick Harris, R-Edmond, said that under the measure, he could fire his assistant for using medical marijuana.
West said the assistant could not be fired for just having a medical marijuana card, but could be terminated if the employer classified the position as “safety-sensitive” and the employee in that job tested positive for marijuana
Although the measure failed, West served notice that on some future legislative day he may bring the measure back up for another vote.
