Illinois is in the final stages of licensing new cannabis retailers in its adult-use cannabis market, which launched in January 2020, but employees in the state can still be fired for testing positive for cannabis use.
To change that, Democratic Reps. Bob Morgan, Kambium Buckner and Kelly Cassidy have sponsored H.B. 4116, which would prohibit employers from terminating—or refusing to hire—employees based solely on a positive drug test for cannabis.
The bill places limits on the allowable amount of cannabis in an employee’s system; legal limits would be 5 nanograms per milliliter of blood or 10 nanograms per milliliter of saliva.
Since cannabis remains federally illegal, federal employees or those with federal contracts would be exempt from the law, according to a KHQA report.
The legislation also provides exceptions for certain groups like emergency workers, and it would allow employers to take disciplinary action against employees who are impaired on the job.
