This month, Maine has become the first jurisdiction in the nation to protect workers from adverse employment action based on their use of marijuana and marijuana products. The “Question 1 – An Act to Legalize Marijuana” (The Act) was approved in November by Maine voters, which would permit the recreational use, retail sale and taxation of marijuana. The anti-discrimination provisions of the Act prohibit employers from refusing to employ or otherwise penalizing any person age 21 or older based on that person’s “consuming marijuana outside … the employer’s … property.” The Act does, however, allow employers to prohibit the use and possession of marijuana and marijuana products “in the workplace” and to “discipline employees who are under the influence of marijuana in the workplace.”

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