Upon recognizing that marijuana testing could reduce the potential employee pool for Las Vegas casinos, some businesses are excluding marijuana from their drug tests for prospective hires.
Caesars Entertainment has discontinued marijuana drug testing, as confirmed by a company spokesperson to KTNV. The representative stated that employees would be subjected to drug tests only if there was suspicion of drug use. In contrast, MGM Resorts maintains marijuana testing as part of its recruitment process.
The Associated Press discovered that only employees working in transportation in Las Vegas will be tested for marijuana by the casino.
James Reidy, an employment lawyer from New Hampshire, informed AP that employers are increasingly considering whether the jobs they are offering necessitate the test.
“Employers are questioning if they should test and exclude a whole group of people or if they should take some risks, as long as these individuals are not impaired at work, due to the thin labor pool,” Reidy stated to the Las Vegas Sun.
Public pot acceptability up
Reidy suggests that due to the ongoing concerns of many companies about their public image and acceptance relating to marijuana and its testing, this could become the “new don’t ask, don’t tell.”
Despite this, the public’s view of marijuana is shifting as it gains legal status. According to a Gallup poll, 64 percent of Americans are in favor of legalizing cannabis, marking the highest level of support in fifty years.
The CEO of the Nevada Association of Employers, Thoran Towler, likened the prevalence and appearance of recreational marijuana dispensaries to that of Apple stores. He noted that while recreational use is legal in Nevada, this is not the main concern for employers.
Towler stated executives from his 400-member group are still inquisitive about where they can source employees. He suggests that about 10% of the members have ceased marijuana testing as there appears to be no other choice.
Towler said, “They argue that they must focus on getting people on the casino floor or making the beds, not what their employees do in their free time.”
Marijuana use wide among employees
Increasingly, employers are broadening their recruitment base due to the unprecedented number of job vacancies. Employers in various parts of the country, including New Hampshire, Michigan, and California, are recognizing that marijuana testing narrows their choices.
Colorado still permits businesses to terminate employees who test positive for marijuana, while Maine prohibits companies from firing or preventing potential hires due to their off-duty marijuana use.
In 2016, the Employers Council in Denver discovered that 10 percent of employers ceased marijuana screening.
This practice, now over 30 years old, might be considered outdated as the legalization and acceptance of marijuana becomes more widespread.
The AP reports that employers in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island have been unsuccessful in lawsuits after retracting job offers or dismissing employees who tested positive for cannabis. It was only this year that the courts shifted their position to support the employees.
The Society for Human Resource Management discovered that 57 percent of firms carry out drug tests. However, it’s not specified whether these tests include screening for marijuana.
Low unemployment rates among those who have not graduated high school (5.5%) could be another potential influence, as more businesses are now hiring people without high school diplomas.
Only time and business competition will determine if companies will alter their practices in the future.
