Marijuana in the Workplace
July 31, 2019

Where marijuana, both medical and recreational, is fast becoming legal across the country, employers are perplexed as how to navigate the legalization of marijuana while at the same time confronting the use of marijuana by employees, on and off the clock.  The presentation will provide an updated summary of the most recent developments nationwide, identifying how employers can continue to implement a drug free policy that includes drug testing; current trends with medical marijuana and accommodation issues; and effective guidelines for establishing workplace safety and productivity in this fast-changing environment. 

Presented by Sarah Turner

Sarah Turner is a partner with the law firm Gordon & Rees Scully Mansukhani with the Employment/Labor group and is located in the Seattle and Portland office. Ms. Turner’s practice includes counseling and litigation. Her litigation experience includes defending employers in matters involving claims for wrongful discharge, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, privacy, defamation, ADA, leave and benefits, breach of contract, violation of non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, and wage and hour. Ms. Turner has defended clients from lawsuits that are filed in state and federal courts, arbitrations before American Arbitration Association and Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, and in matters filed with federal and state agencies including the National Labors Relations Board, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Department of Labor, Department of Health, Washington’s Labor & Industries, Washington’s Human Rights Commission, Seattle Office of Civil Rights, Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries, and other state and local administrative agencies. Ms. Turner also counsels, trains, and represents clients on a broad range of employment issues including, hiring and termination practices, workplace investigations, discrimination and harassment, retaliation, ERISA benefits, Affordable Care Act, wage and hour, drug and alcohol policies (with a focus on legalization of marijuana), and union practices. Ms. Turner also has experience counseling and representing employers in traditional labor disputes involving unfair labor practices and federal preemption issues. Ms. Turner’s practice also includes federal and state litigation of group and individual life, health and disability benefits and breach of fiduciary duty claims under ERISA. She has successfully defended clients in lawsuits filed in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and Washington and Oregon federal courts. Ms. Turner has authored publications on several ERISA-related topics.