Employment

The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability last week advanced a bipartisan measure to let cannabis consumers qualify for security clearances and become federal employees.

Three Rise dispensaries in Illinois recently saw workers ratify their first collective bargaining agreement following a “protracted fight.” Rise is a subsidiary of multi-state operator Green Thumb Industries.

A bipartisan U.S. House proposal seeks to end the consideration of prior or current cannabis use when assigning security clearance for federal employment.

The Teamsters Local 777 union has reached tentative agreements for cannabis consultants and agents-in-charge at Zen Leaf dispensaries in Chicago.

The Michigan Civil Service Commission voted unanimously this week to allow hiring individuals for most state employee positions even if they fail pre-employment drug tests for cannabis.

Rhode Island dispensary Greenleaf Compassionate Care Center has filed a lawsuit over labor peace agreement provisions in the state’s cannabis legalization law, arguing it was “coerced into entering an oppressive collective bargaining agreement.”

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) signed a bill to increase banking access for the state’s cannabis industry; the bill also adds new fingerprinting and background check requirements for cannabis industry employees.

A Florida appeals court this week ruled that the firing of a Department of Corrections officer over his prescribed medical cannabis use was justified under federal law.

A recent report by the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions found that the state’s cannabis industry employed more than 4,600 workers at the close of last year.

A recent study by Quest Diagnostics found that post-accident workforce drug tests returned more positive tests for cannabis in 2022 than at any point in the previous 25 years.

Cannabis cultivation workers at 48 Advanced Grow Labs in Connecticut this week became the first cannabis industry workers in Connecticut to unionize.

A recent survey found that 40% of employed cannabis consumers said they are planning to take the day off from work for 4/20 this year.

Washington lawmakers have passed a measure prohibiting employers from denying a job to an individual due to their off-the-clock cannabis use.

A top U.S. intelligence officer recently reaffirmed the federal government does not deny security clearances for employees based on their past cannabis use.

The Washington Senate has approved a ban on discriminating against cannabis use during the hiring process.

Canadian cannabis firm Canopy Growth this week announced the closure of its Hershey Drive facility and layoffs for 60% of its staff as the company transitions to an “asset-light model.”

Three simple steps to avoid some of the industry’s most common cannabis finance and accounting missteps: hire properly, avoid undervaluing the right people for the job, and build a strong foundation for your company’s financial policies.

Massachusetts cannabis firm Trulieve will pay a $14,502 fine to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) over the death of cannabis worker Lorna McMurrey, who died after inhaling too much “ground cannabis dust” at the company’s Holyoke facility in early 2022.

A Buffalo, New York firefighter who was terminated for using doctor-recommended medical cannabis has been reinstated following a successful lawsuit.

The latest piece in our 2023 Cannabis Industry Predictions series features experts in cannabis data collection and analysis, operations management, technology, employment, industry events, and tourism.

The multistate cannabis operator Curaleaf reportedly laid off about 200 employees ahead of the Thanksgiving weekend in an effort to “control costs and drive efficiencies in the face of economic uncertainties ahead.”

Hemp fiber processing company FyberX is set to invest $17.5 million into its U.S. headquarters in Virginia. 

Trulieve has released a statement disputing some of the press reports about the death of employee Lorna McMurrey at the company’s facility in Holyoke, Massachusetts in January.

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission was in the process of investigating the Trulieve facility where an employee died in January for previous employee complaints.