New York City Ban On Pre-Employment Marijuana Testing Takes Effect, But Not For All Workers

As of Sunday, many New York City employers are no longer able to require pre-employment drug testing for marijuana as a part of the hiring process—though there are a series of exemptions to the policy, including some that are still being finalized.

The City Council approved the ban last year, and it was enacted without Mayor Bill de Blasio’s (D) signature. It stipulates that, generally speaking, companies in the city can’t conduct pre-employment tests for THC metabolites unless the position is safety sensitive.

What exactly constitutes such a position has been subject to debate. As originally written and passed, the bill included language carving out exceptions from the prohibition on testing for those applying to certain jobs such as police officers and people charged with supervising or caring for children, as well as positions “tied to a federal or state contract or grant.”

However, it also contains a provision that allowed the New York City Commission on Human Rights to expand the list of excepted jobs. And that’s what the body did last month with proposed regulations, which were open for public comment until April 27. The commission also held a virtual hearing on the issue on April 16.

Under the commission’s proposal, workers who use heavy machinery, spend a significant amount of time at a construction site, work with power or gas utility lines or use a motor vehicle on approximately a daily basis would still be subject to pre-employment drug testing for cannabis.
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