Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1147735
W EEKLY EDITION JULY 24, 2019 Legal Marijuana: HR Policy Issues for the Portable Sanitation Industry – Part 2 of 2 By Karl een Kos, PSAI Executive Director At a 2018 SHRM conference James Reidy, an attorney with Sheehan Phinney in Manchester, NH, said the conflict between federal and state legislation makes it challenging fo r employers to develop policies and procedures. As documented by Lisa Nagele - Piazza, J.D. in an April 24, 2018 blog post for SHRM: The best employers can do at this point is to focus on workers' performance and impairment […] At a minimum, your drug an d alcohol policy should: § Prohibit the use, possession, sale, distribution or manufacture of drugs and drug paraphernalia at work. § Forbid employees from reporting to work while under the influence. § Reserve the right to conduct searches of workspaces upon re asonable suspicion. § Ensure compliance with applicable federal and state laws. Do I need a zero tolerance policy? There is no one - size - fits - all answer to the question of whether you need a zero tolerance policy. While you must have and enforce one if your company is subject to FMCSRs or other customer requirements, there are things to consider. Think about whether zer o tolerance makes sense in light of your employee recruitment and retention goals. Ask whether zero tolerance will conflict with your ability to comply with other laws that apply to your company. For example, some states (e.g., Maine) prohibit employers fr om firing workers for the first failed drug test; instead, employees must be given the chance to complete a rehab program. You'll need to know if a law like this applies in your state and how that affects your hiring and firing decisions. As mentioned earlier, your company may also be subject to laws that apply to the customers you serve. Portable sanitation companies with accounts covering federal installations such as military bases and nuclear power plants, areas of high security such as airports and schools, or sites of hazardous work such as mines, are often required to meet the same legal requirements as their customers in order to do business with them. P AGE 8 CONTINUED ON PAGE 9