February 28, 2024 - Two bills supported by Associated Industries of Missouri that would address marijuana in the workplace advanced today.
HB 1990, sponsored by Rep. Sherri Gallick, was approved by the House Insurance Policy Committee today, enjoying bipartisan support. The House bill was amended with language defining "impairment." Immediately after the House Committee action, the Senate General Laws Committee held a hearing for SB 935, sponsored by the Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Mike Bernskoetter.
Brad Young, expert workers' compensation attorney, testified in support of SB 935. Young told the Committee that the bill will address anticipated work comp claims involving workers that have used marijuana and he explained that the bill is intended to provide the exact same treatment of a worker that has consumed alcohol and a worker that has consumed marijuana prior to a work accident. He explained that the simple presence of the drug in a worker's blood would not automatically reduce work comp benefits for the worker. Such a reduction would only occur if the consumption of marijuana is determined by the administrative law judge or a court to be the "proximate cause" of the accident. Young was responding to questions about potentially penalizing a worker that tests positive even though the worker consumed the marijuana long before the accident. Young said the "proximate cause" language already in statute protects workers from being unfairly penalized.
Ray McCarty, president of Associated Industries of Missouri, said the bill was necessary because of the legalization of recreational marijuana consumption in Missouri and anticipated federal legalization at some point in the future. McCarty pointed out to the Committee that the constitutional amendment approved by voters establishing legal recreational use of marijuana contained two specific references that prohibit use of marijuana in the workplace and allow employers to enforce their rules against the use of marijuana in the workplace. Associated Industries of Missouri fully supports both bills.
The House bill will now move to a rules committee and then be eligible for debate by the full House of Representatives. The Senate bill will be considered and hopefully approved by the committee in a future hearing.
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