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Oregon lawmakers revisit worker protections for off duty pot use

By Associated Press
Published: December 18, 2018, 4:55pm

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon lawmakers will consider making it illegal for businesses to fire employees who flunk drug tests for using marijuana off the clock, reviving a workers’ rights campaign that failed in the statehouse last year.

The Statesman Journal reported that a proposed bill would also change state law to protect job seekers who use substances like pot that are legal here.

The proposal reflects a debate over whether Oregon workers should be forced to abstain from marijuana use — which is allowed under state law but remains federally illegal — for fear of getting fired or losing an employment offer.

Senate Bill 301, which represented a previous attempt to loosen employment restrictions, failed in 2017. That bill generally dealt with discrimination against medical marijuana cardholders who tested positive for the cannabis.

The latest proposal has come before the Senate Interim Committee on Judiciary, chaired by Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene. Prozanski said Monday that the concept was a redrafted form of SB 301.

“We’ll definitely have some discussions” on the proposal, he said.

The proposed bill wouldn’t allow employees to use pot if their collective bargaining agreements prohibit partaking while off-duty, or if there is a “bona fide occupational qualification” associated with their job. It also does not permit working under the influence.

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