BREMERTON—It’s been three years since Washington voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use, but employers are still adapting to the changes.

The Bremerton Chamber of Commerce hosted its monthly luncheon at the Kitsap Golf and Country Club on June 16. James McCanna, a Kingston based employment attorney, spoke to chambers members about the issue.

While marijuana is legal in Washington for persons 21 and over, employers can still prohibit their employees from partaking, said McCanna.

“Nothing has changed, and I emphasize yet, in employment law as it pertains to marijuana use by employees,” McCanna said.

McCanna said this prohibition can still apply to employees using medical marijuana.

“Medical marijuana doesn’t fall under any of the conditions for the disability of an employee,” McCanna said. “It is simply excluded from the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

McCanna cited a Washington Supreme Court case in which a woman sued her employer, TeleTech Customer Care, because she was fired for using medical marijuana. The woman, known by the pseudonym Jane Roe, believed her use of marijuana was protected by the Medical Use of Marijuana Act. She was wrong. The court ruled in favor of the employer.

However, McCanna believes medical marijuana policies may soon change at the federal level. He said the federal government is pushing to change marijuana from a Schedule 1 to a Schedule 2 drug.

“As a result of it being a Schedule 1 drug, the National Institutes of Health are prohibited from conducting research on medical benefits of marijuana,” McCanna said.

Doing so could conflict with legal precedents, such as Roe v. TeleTech.

If they were able to do medical marijuana research at the NIH it would then become an issue for the state courts that are relying on federal law to say that it’s illegal.

Regardless, McCanna warned that employees under the influence at work can be dangerous.

Kristal Baker, owner and CEO of Express Employment Professionals in Bremerton, said her “in-house” employees are not drug tested.

“We’re not running heavy machinery,” Baker said.

Express Employment helps companies with staffing. She said there’s a zero tolerance policy among those companies for employees who do operate heavy machinery.

Tom Taylor, who works in business development for Costco, said employees are tested during employment and there is a zero tolerance policy while at work.

“If you come to work high and they test you then it’s terminable,” Taylor said.