D.C. Just Approved A Bill To End Job Applicant Marijuana Tests

D.C. Just Approved A Bill To End Job Applicant Marijuana Tests

Thanks to a new bill, passed in Washington, D.C., it is now illegal for businesses to screen potential employees for marijuana use.

As Counter Current News writes, “Employers, under the new bill, won’t be able to test applicants for marijuana in Washington D.C. until they have made a conditional job offer.  The proposal was sponsored by Council member Vincent Orange, who explained that district residents shouldn’t have to worry about lost job opportunities simply because they have used marijuana… The bill will still allow employers to test for marijuana after they offer someone a job, if that is a condition of employment. It still affords employers the ability to test during employment. But testing will no longer be allowed as a factor to screen people right from the start.”

The Washington Post reports, “The bill… amounts to a first in what could perhaps be dozens of legal changes council members say they expect to undertake in coming months as they grapple with balancing marijuana’s new status as a legal intoxicant in the District against decades of laws aimed at preventing the use of the drug and punishing those found with it. Most council members have indicated that they will approve it.”

Though marijuana use is becoming more widely accepted, it is understandable that certain employers would not want their employees to be smoking weed.  However, it is unfair to test someone who may have yet to fully understand the job for which they are applying, for a substance that is proven to be overwhelmingly safe.  Hopefully, this sort of legislature will aid in convincing employers that marijuana is of little concern to them and it’s effect on the productivity of their employees.  For now, there seems to be some promise in this ruling.