The Michigan Civil Service Commission earlier this month proposed a rule change that would drop pre-employment drug testing for cannabis. The proposal would not change the requirements for safety-sensitive jobs, such as state police or commercial vehicle drivers.
“If approved, they would not impact current testing policies applicable to test-designated positions or those applicable to employees, nor would they change current prohibitions on an employee’s use of drugs while on duty or reporting for or being on duty with a prohibited level of drugs present in the employee’s bodily fluids.” — Michigan Civil Service Commission, in a statement, via Click on Detroit
Adult-use cannabis has been legal in Michigan since 2018. The rules requiring cannabis testing as a pre-employment requirement in Michigan were implemented in 1998, according to an official communication from State Personnel Director John Gnodtke.
The memo also notes that ending pre-employment testing for cannabis “would not affect the availability of reasonable-suspicion or follow-up testing for marijuana of classified employees, including candidates who become employees.” The memo says that, since the passage of adult-use cannabis laws in the state, approximately 350 applicants for classified positions have tested positive for cannabis in pre-employment testing and current state rules require rescission of the employment offer and a three-year ban from appointment to other state positions in such a situation.
“While many of these sanctions have since lapsed, a few hundred remain in effect. The commission could adopt rule language allowing amnesty through rescission of continuing sanctions based on a pre-employment drug test for a non-test designated position with a positive result for marijuana,” the memo says. “Such action would not result in employment for these candidates but would allow them to apply for classified positions rather than waiting three years after being sanctioned.”
The commission is currently seeking public comments on the proposal.
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