Overview: Maine passed An Act to Delay the Implementation of Certain Portions of the Marijuana Legalization Act, delaying the effective date of most of the state’s recreational marijuana law until February 1, 2018. Among the provisions delayed are the anti-discrimination provisions, which prohibit employers from taking action against employees who consume marijuana “outside the employer’s property.”
Effective Date: Currently in effect.
Coverage: All employers with employees in Maine.
Action Required: Please contact your Human Resources Business Partner if you have any questions.
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Maine passed emergency legislation that grants employers with operations in Maine a temporary reprieve from complying with the anti-discrimination provisions of An Act to Legalize Marijuana (“Act”), passed by ballot initiative on November 8, 2016.
The Act permits individuals 21 years of age or older to use or possess up to two and a half ounces of marijuana, consume marijuana in nonpublic places, grow marijuana plants, and purchase marijuana from retail marijuana stores and other facilities. The Act is unique in that, although it allows employers to prohibit the use and possession of marijuana and marijuana products “in the workplace,” it prohibits employers from refusing to employ or otherwise penalizing a person for “consuming marijuana outside the . . . employer’s . . . property.” It is the first law in the United States to establish anti-discrimination protections for recreational marijuana use.
The Act was scheduled to take effect on January 30, 2017; however, An Act to Delay the Implementation of Certain Portions of the Marijuana Legalization Act was passed. It delays the effective date of most of the Act’s provisions, including the anti-discrimination provisions, until February 1, 2018.