![]() New Orleans City Council Moves to End Marijuana Drug Testing for City Employees. One of things which prompted this move, was the story of local Police Officer who lost his job. In January 2021, a major fire broke out in an apartment complex in New Orleans, and during evacuation, a Police Officer led residents to safety. He was commended for his bravery and nominated for an award by his supervisor. Unfortunately, a routine drug test which coincidentally had been taken the same day of the fire came back as testing positive for marijuana, and the Officer was fired. As most people are aware, drug tests can still show positive for marijuana without the subject actually being high, since THC metabolites can continue to show up in urine for weeks or more after use. This month New Orleans City Council voted to give the man his job back. The City Council also unanimously passed a resolution to recommend that drug testing for cannabis be dropped. Specifically, the resolution has two components: (1) it requests the City eliminate cannabis testing as a part of pre-employment screening and (2) asks the city to change its rules so that a positive cannabis test, in the absence of signs that a city worker was intoxicated or impaired on the job, cannot lead to termination. While the City Council’s resolution itself will not change city policy, it does recommend that the branch of the city which oversees it’s employees personnel issues, namely the Civil Service Commission. And this group, which were individually appointed by the City Council, does have the power to make rules which have the force and effect of law. It’s expected that the Civil Service Commission will act in accord with the Council’s new resolution and drop cannabis testing for New Orleans’ civil employees. Comments are closed.
|
Proudly powered by Weebly