The town of Amsterdam, New York owes practically $200,000 after firing a medical marijuana affected person for failing a drug screening for hashish, a jury determined in a authorized motion filed by the dismissed metropolis employee. The jury discovered that town had discriminated in opposition to Thomas Apholz, a wastewater therapy plant employee who was suspended in February 2020 and later fired after testing constructive for marijuana.
“They couldn’t hearth him quick sufficient,” Kevin A. Luibrand, Apholz’s legal professional told the Times-Union. “They gave him a termination letter on a Monday that fired him the prior Sunday so he couldn’t current his prescription card.”
New York legalized the medical use of marijuana in 2014 with the passage of the Compassionate Care Act, which went into impact in 2016. State regulation additionally grants registered medical marijuana sufferers incapacity standing, which affords safety from employment discrimination for utilizing hashish.
Affected person Fired After Failed Drug Screening
In 2017, Apholz examined constructive for hashish in a random drug screening however was allowed to maintain his job underneath a “final probability settlement” he signed with town. Below the phrases of the settlement, he was topic to termination for future violations of town’s drug insurance policies.
Apholz examined constructive for hashish in a random drug screening once more in 2020 and was subsequently suspended and finally fired. He then filed go well with in state Supreme Court docket in Montgomery County, alleging illegal employment discrimination and failure to accommodate his incapacity as required by the New York People Rights Regulation.
A yr earlier than the second constructive drug screening, Apholz had obtained a medical marijuana suggestion for decrease again ache. In a five-day trial earlier than Choose Rebecca Slezak, Apholz’s attorneys famous that he solely used hashish in capsule type “within the night at residence when his ache was at its worst” and had by no means used medical marijuana at work. In response to courtroom information, Apholz notified “brokers” of town that he was a licensed affected person within the state Medical Marijuana Program and had a sound Division of Well being certification for a medical marijuana prescription on the time of the drug screening.
The town “was made conscious of plaintiff’s prescription a number of instances, and subsequently his incapacity, earlier than he was terminated,” courtroom filings state. “Defendant has offered no proof that plaintiff’s use of marijuana impacted his capacity to finish his job duties in any method.”
“The proof signifies that plaintiff was an efficient employee whereas having his marijuana prescription, and that he can carry out his job safely and satisfactorily, and defendant has failed to supply any proof on the file that plaintiff’s use of marijuana has ever negatively impacted his job efficiency or positioned anybody at risk,” courtroom filings state.
Attorneys for town argued that Apholz had not correctly notified town’s worker relations director about his incapacity and medical marijuana prescription as required by metropolis coverage. As a substitute, town maintained that Apholz had notified metropolis engineer Mike Clark of his medical marijuana registration on March 5, 2020, after he had already been suspended for the second failed drug screening. Moreover, town’s attorneys claimed that Apholz by no means offered any affirmation the prescription wouldn’t intervene together with his efficiency of his “security delicate place” involving using massive equipment and dealing with hazardous chemical compounds.
Jury Finds In Sufferers’ Favor
The jury reached its verdict on June 30, discovering that town discriminated in opposition to Apholz for utilizing medical marijuana and awarding him a judgment of $191,762. He’s additionally eligible to request the decide to order reinstatement to his job and for town to pay his authorized charges.
“The jury discovered that senior Amsterdam metropolis officers refused to supply Mr. Apholz an lodging for his medical situation after he knowledgeable town that he had a medical marijuana prescription following a random drug check, and summarily fired him on March 16, 2020 with out a civil service listening to and with out having any discussions with him about his medical situation,” in keeping with an announcement from Luibrand quoted by The Daily Gazette.
Aaron Bloom, the CEO of DocMJ, a medical marijuana doctor observe that gives compassionate care to sufferers, says that the jury’s verdict underscores the significance of legal guidelines that shield medical hashish sufferers.
“Respecting sufferers’ medical hashish rights, significantly within the office, is of utmost significance. It’s essential to acknowledge the legitimacy of medical hashish as a therapeutic possibility and be certain that sufferers who depend on it for his or her well-being are handled with equity and understanding,” Bloom writes in an e mail to Excessive Instances. “Medical hashish sufferers even have an obligation to not present up for work underneath the affect of hashish in a fashion that violates office security. By offering acceptable lodging and respecting the rights of workers with legitimate medical hashish prescriptions, we will create an setting that promotes inclusivity and helps people in managing their well being situations successfully.”
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