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Supreme Court won't allow employer to fire worker over use of medical marijuana

New Hampshire Union Leader - 1/20/2022

Jan. 20—A stressed-out worker cannot be fired for the use of medical marijuana off the job, the New Hampshire Supreme Court has ruled.

The Supreme Court overturned a trial court ruling that allowed a company to fire a worker who started to use medical marijuana and asked to be exempt from the company's drug testing.

Scott Paine brought the lawsuit against Ride-Away Inc., a Londonderry company that sells, leases and equips vehicles adapted for use by handicapped people.

The company hired Paine in May 2018 as an automotive detailer. But they fired him in September 2018 when he told bosses he had enrolled in the state's therapeutic cannabis program and his doctor had approved cannabis use for his PTSD.

Paine sued under the state's anti-discrimination law, which requires employers to make a reasonable accommodation for a worker's disability.

"We agree with the plaintiff that (the state anti-discrimination law) does not contain any language categorically excluding the use of therapeutic cannabis as an accommodation," reads the unanimous opinion, written by Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald.

Both the ACLU-New Hampshire and Disability Right Center-NH filed briefs in support of Paine.

In a statement, the ACLU said people with disabilities should not be denied a job based on medical treatments.

"This Supreme Court ruling is a victory for the over ten thousand Granite Staters enrolled in the state's medical cannabis program who were at were at risk of experiencing employment discrimination due to their disability," said senior staff attorney Henry Klementowicz in a statement.

A lawyer for Ride-Away did not immediately return a telephone call.

The ruling does not mean that Paine can use or possess marijuana on the job, the justices pointed out.

The justices returned the case to Rockingham County Superior Court Judge Daniel St. Hilaire to work out details about how the process would work.

mhayward@unionleader.com

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