New Illinois Laws Affecting Illinois Employers in 2014 while the New Year brings many new laws of which you should be aware, there are particular laws effective January 1, 2014 instituted by the Illinois legislature of which business owners should be particularly aware.
Below is a brief summary of one of the new laws that may affect Illinois business owners and employers.
The Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act (“Compassionate Use Act”) The Compassionate Use Act went into effect January 1, 2014 and authorized a four-year pilot program for dispensing and using medicinal marijuana in Illinois. Patients possessing a physician’s recommendation, suffering from one of the listed “debilitating medical conditions” (such as cancer, glaucoma, HIV and Parkinson’s, to name a few) and not having a felony drug conviction may participate in the program. The Compassionate Use Act provides that individuals with “debilitating medical conditions” that register with the Illinois Department of Public Health may obtain access to medical marijuana. While the Compassionate Use Act is a comprehensive and extensive statute, certain components are particularly relevant to Illinois businesses. The Compassionate Use Act provides that an employer may not discriminate against an individual in its drug policies “solely for his or her status as a registered qualifying patient.” The law further states that an employer may not penalize an individual (which might include refusing to hire, terminating or taking adverse action against) because that individual has access to medical marijuana. The law does provide an exception that allows the employer to take action if “failing to do so would put the…employer… in violation of federal law or…failing to do so would cause it to lose a monetary or licensing-related benefit under federal law or rules.” Although the Compassionate Use Act allows employees access to medical marijuana, use of medical marijuana is not without its limitations. The law states that an employer will not be liable if such employer terminates or disciplines an employee based upon the employer’s good faith belief that the employee used or possessed marijuana on the employer’s premises and/or was impaired while working on the employer’s premises. Employers may continue to enforce drug testing, zero-tolerance and drug-free workplace policies and may discipline a registered qualifying patient for violating a workplace drug policy provided that such policy is applied in a non-discriminatory manner. This is only a brief summary of certain provisions of the Compassionate Use Act and how it may affect Illinois businesses. There are numerous other amendments and new laws which have taken effect as of January 1, 2014.
Should you have any questions about Compassionate Use Act or any other law that may affect the operation of your business, or would like to schedule a free initial consultation, please contact Waltz, Palmer & Dawson, LLC at (847)253-8800 or contact us online.
Waltz, Palmer & Dawson, LLC is a full-service law firm with various areas of service to assist your business, including: Employment Law, Intellectual Property, Commercial Real Estate, Business Immigration, Litigation and general Business Law services. Individual services include Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts, Probate, Guardianship, Divorce and Family Law.
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