Illinois’ House of Representatives has passed a bill that would protect workers from being fired from their jobs for using cannabis when they’re not at work. It will need to be passed by the state’s Senate and signed by the governor to become law. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Bob Morgan (D), said this is about protecting people’s rights to do what they want when they’re not on the job.

“If we’re going to legalize the substance, you should talk about individual liberties and what people want to do on their weekends,” Morgan said. “We should allow people to make good choices and not be discriminated against in the workplace because of those choices as long as it’s not affecting the workplace.”

Many legalization advocates have rallied against drug testing at workplaces because it can lead to people being fired for testing positive for cannabis even if they weren’t using cannabis on the job or intoxicated on the job. They often argue that workers are not punished for drinking when they’re off the job but are punished for using cannabis the same way. Furthermore, many use cannabis for medical purposes, so firing them for testing positive is essentially firing them for treating a medical condition.

Edie Moore, legislative co-chair at Chicago NORML, told Cannabis News Box that there are positive and negative aspects of this bill.

“We support the bill in general,” Moore said. “The language uses the IL vehicle code’s standards to judge impairment, which we do not agree with.”

Moore said that even though Illinois has completely legalized cannabis, many workers are still saying they’re facing problems with drug testing at work and some are losing their jobs. This remains a problem in many legal cannabis states around the country.

“I received a call just today from a mj patient who is a candidate for employment (not for a cannabis industry job),” Moore said. “They are worried and seeking council because there are no employee protections for cannabis patients yet in statute.”

Moore said there is never a good reason to test for cannabis. Even in jobs that have higher safety requirements, Moore believes people should be
tested for impairment, not the presence of THC in the body. Many legalization advocates around the country feel the same way. The Senate
will be voting on the bill to protect workers from being fired for using cannabis in the near future.