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How Changing Marijuana Laws Affect Hiring

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Today in the United States, marijuana is legal to some capacity in 33 states. Other states are discussing legalization. We can expect marijuana laws for legalization to expand over the next several years.

Rapidly changing marijuana laws presents questions and challenges in the employment screening space. Many pieces of marijuana legislation include new employee protections that could impact the way you screen potential employees. To stay compliant with hiring and credit reporting laws, it is important to stay up to date with state regulations.

In today’s blog, we’ll give an overview of the most recent laws protecting employees in regards to marijuana. If your state is not included, now is a good time to adapt to nationwide trend. This allows you to get ahead of the game in case your state passes marijuana laws.

Illinois Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act

In January 2020, Illinois became the eleventh state to legalize recreational marijuana. Part of the law that allowed for recreational marijuana included the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act. In other words, employers cannot punish them for using marijuana outside of work.

Essentially, Illinois employers cannot fire or refuse to hire an individual because they use marijuana in their free time. This doesn’t mean employers cannot run drug tests on candidates or employees, but the results of marijuana tests are not grounds for termination.

Pre-employment Drug Screening in New Jersey, Nevada, and New York City

New Jersey, Nevada and New York City have all passed similar measures in the past year regarding drug screening and employment. This means employment refusal or termination cannot be based on marijuana screening results.

New Jersey’s ruling specifically applies to those who use medical marijuana. An employee being fired for a positive drug test even though they were using marijuana for medical reasons which led to the passing of this law. The employee sued their employer for not accommodating their medical needs. Now, with the exception of jobs that require lots of safety precautions, employers cannot discriminate against those who use medical marijuana.

Additionally, in Nevada and New York City employers can run pre-employment drug screenings, but those screenings cannot include marijuana. Bypassing marijuana screening eliminates the possibility of hiring teams discriminating against those who use marijuana. There are exceptions to these regulations for safety-conscious positions.

If you think your business may be affected by these new laws or if you want to plan ahead, reach out to One Source. We can help you tailor your drug screening and hiring process to your local mandates.

How An Inadequate Background Check Will Lose You Money

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If you type “background check” into your search bar, you’ll likely see some websites touting their free, fast screenings mixed in with trusted background check agencies. These free background check websites can look tempting—especially if you’re looking to cut costs—but looks can be deceiving. This can lead a company to perform an inadequate background check and potentially a bad hire.

In the case of background checks, not all screenings are equal. Organizations that offer inadequate screenings are all over the internet. And while the screenings themselves may be cheap, their shortcomings can have long-term consequences.

Before you jump into a background check system, consider investing in quality background checks. A reliable, comprehensive background check service will save you from the dangers of an inadequate background check. In this blog, we’ll explain the pitfalls of free screenings and how quality checks from companies like One Source can save you money in the long run.

Lack of Personalization

Every organization approaches screening differently. Before you commit to a background check plan, think about how many screenings you’ll need, what specific information you want in each report, and how you’d like to manage screenings. Background checks aren’t as simple as typing an applicant’s Social Security number into a free database. Free screening sites will lead you to believe they provide comprehensive information, but they will not be able to tailor screenings to your needs. However, this will lead to an inadequate background check and possible bad hire for your company.

Most free screening sites only let you perform one screening at a time, offer no way to organize information, and lack checks that may be essential to your business. All of these issues will waste your time and still leave you with insufficient information. 

One Source tailors your background checks to each position in your company, provides an easy-to-use dashboard to keep reports organized, and always provides comprehensive data.

Dangers of a Bad Hire

At One Source, we work to give you extensive information so you can make the most informed hiring decisions. Hiring a reliable, trustworthy candidate will always be a safer investment than hiring someone you don’t know much about. 

Inadequate background checks will never quite give you all the data you need to make a confident decision. Your peace of mind is worth finding a dependable screening resource. For every bad hire, organizations lose money—more money than a quality background check might cost. Wasted onboarding time, benefits, and equipment all add up to lost funds when you make a bad hire. High turnover rates also lower productivity and dampen morale. 

Before you choose a screening service, remember how your hiring choices can ripple across your company. Quality screenings increase your chance of quality employees, who will in turn increase your profitability. One Source can work with you to personalize your screening solutions and ensure you have everything you need to make the best hire. Check out our TotalCheck solutions to learn more about how we can work for you.