Nevada Restricts Pre-Employment Use of Cannabis Tests

New York City passed their law that will go into effect on 1/1/2020 which states that NYC employers will no longer be able to require candidates to submit to a test for cannabis as a condition of employment. The State of Nevada has joined this by passing a law that will make it unlawful for applicants to be rejected for a positive result for cannabis on a pre-employment drug test, and become the first State to pass such a law.

With most laws of this nature, there are exceptions. This law will not apply to anyone applying for a position as a firefighter or EMT, or if the job requires the employee to operate a motor vehicle for which federal or state law mandates that the employee take a drug test.

It’s suggested that in addition to reviewing and updating drug testing policies, employers in Nevada should also discuss with their vendors and Medical Review Officers to ensure candidate are not screened for cannabis. The biggest gray area of this bill is that it allows employers to use their discretion to decide whether a position is exempt from cannabis testing or not because it might affect the safety of others.

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