(A) Nothing in this chapter does any of the following:

Terms Used In Ohio Code 3796.28

  • Marijuana: means marihuana as defined in section 3719. See Ohio Code 3796.01
  • Medical marijuana: means marijuana that is cultivated, processed, dispensed, tested, possessed, or used for a medical purpose. See Ohio Code 3796.01
  • Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
  • United States: includes all the states. See Ohio Code 1.59

(1) Requires an employer to permit or accommodate an employee’s use, possession, or distribution of medical marijuana;

(2) Prohibits an employer from refusing to hire, discharging, disciplining, or otherwise taking an adverse employment action against a person with respect to hire, tenure, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of that person’s use, possession, or distribution of medical marijuana;

(3) Prohibits an employer from establishing and enforcing a drug testing policy, drug-free workplace policy, or zero-tolerance drug policy;

(4) Interferes with any federal restrictions on employment, including the regulations adopted by the United States department of transportation in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as amended;

(5) Permits a person to commence a cause of action against an employer for refusing to hire, discharging, disciplining, discriminating, retaliating, or otherwise taking an adverse employment action against a person with respect to hire, tenure, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment related to medical marijuana;

(6) Affects the authority of the administrator of workers’ compensation to grant rebates or discounts on premium rates to employers that participate in a drug-free workplace program established in accordance with rules adopted by the administrator under Chapter 4123 of the Revised Code.

(B) A person who is discharged from employment because of that person’s use of medical marijuana shall be considered to have been discharged for just cause for purposes of division (D) of section 4141.29 of the Revised Code if the person’s use of medical marijuana was in violation of an employer’s drug-free workplace policy, zero-tolerance policy, or other formal program or policy regulating the use of medical marijuana.

(C) It is not a violation of division (A), (D), or (E) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code if an employer discharges, refuses to hire, or otherwise discriminates against a person because of that person’s use of medical marijuana if the person’s use of medical marijuana is in violation of the employer’s drug-free workplace policy, zero-tolerance policy, or other formal program or policy regulating the use of medical marijuana.

Last updated July 23, 2021 at 8:13 AM