Michigan Employment Law Update – November 2018

Legalized Recreational Use of Marijuana

On November 6, 2018, Michigan voters approved the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act (Michigan Proposal 18-1) legalizing the recreational use and possession of marijuana for persons age 21 and older. The act does not:

• Require an employer to permit or accommodate conduct otherwise allowed by the act in any workplace or on the employer’s property.
• Prohibit an employer from disciplining an employee for a workplace drug policy violation or for working while under the influence of marijuana.
• Prevent an employer from refusing to hire, discharge, discipline, or otherwise take an adverse employment action against a person with respect to hiring, tenure, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of the employee’s violation of a workplace drug policy or because the employee was working while under the influence of marijuana.

The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs is responsible for promulgating rules that implement and administer the act.

The initiative does not have an effective date. However, according to Michigan law, ballot initiatives go into effect 10 days after the date voting results are certified. A four-member Board of State Canvassers certifies the results of all statewide ballot proposals, after which the results are considered final and the recreational use marijuana will be legalized. Experts predict this will occur sometime in December 2018.

Read the full text of initiative