The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission recently issued interim guidance on the workplace drug testing provisions of the state’s recreational cannabis law meant to act as a placeholder until regulations on the standards for Workplace Impairment Recognition Expert certification are published. Employers are still prohibited from taking adverse action solely because an employee has cannabis metabolites in his or her system. Employers may allow a third-party contractor or an employee who is “sufficiently trained” to “determine impairment” to document the signs and behaviors of suspected workplace impairment.

Employers subject to federal contracts that require specific reasonable suspicion or drug testing protocols may continue to follow those protocols without violating the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act. New Jersey employers should consider preparing a Reasonable Suspicion Observation Report and accompanying Standard Operating Procedure consistent with the guidance. Employers also should consider updating employee policies to ensure consistency with the guidance, and training managers and human resource employees on the guidance.