Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Law Lets Workers Sue for Job Bias

Employers in Pennsylvania can be held liable by workers for employment decisions that discriminate based on authorized medical marijuana use, a commonwealth appeals court ruled on a question of first impression.

The Pennsylvania Superior Court cited a Sept. 25 decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which similarly found that the commonwealth’s Medical Marijuana Act provides a private cause of action to workers, allowing certified medical marijuana patients to sue for job bias stemming from their lawful use of the drug.

The 2016 law doesn’t expressly authorize a direct claim by employees against their employers, ...