“I do think that there is a problem with government stepping in and deciding what kind of relationship the employer and employee ought to have.”
By Wesley Muller, Louisiana Illuminator
A panel that has spent months debating policy ideas to protect workers who use medical marijuana concluded the bulk of its work Thursday, approving more than a dozen recommendations to the Louisiana Legislature.
Thursday marked the last meeting of the Employment and Medical Marijuana Task Force, a group created through a study resolution authored by Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans, after workers in Louisiana raised concerns that they could be fired or face other job-related repercussions for testing positive for a drug the state has legalized for medicinal purposes.
Nearly all of the recommendations received support from an overwhelming majority of the task force members but faced opposition from Troy Prevot, a member who represents one of the most influential lobby groups at the State Capitol, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI).
Prevot, a physician’s assistant who operates an employment drug testing clinic in Baton Rouge, said the recommendations might create more confusion on an issue that is already challenging for businesses.
Currently, employers and employee groups can get together and negotiate workplace drug policies. Any attempts to legislate the issue might get in the way of that, Prevot said.
“I think we’re going to go down a path of more…
