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        • Sticker Shock!!!
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        • Senate Holds Hearing on Subcontractor Failure-to-Pay Bill
        •  2019 Illinois General Assembly Highlights  —  Part II
        • 2019 Illinois General Assembly Highlights — Part I
        • Oppose HB2838 — General Contractors held liable for Subs’ Employee Wages
        • March Madness in Springfield
        • Legislative Committee Begins Its Work
      • 2018 Speaker Topics
        • End of Session Wrap UP
        • General Assembly Approaching Adjournment
        • HBAI to Oppose County Recorders Legislation
        • Lobby Day Harvest Housing Victories
        • HBAI Lobby Day a BIG Success!
        • More Labor Bills – More Anti-Business Legislation – More Regulation
        • Home Builders Prepare to Defend the Public Construction Bond Act
        • HBAI Spring Session Report
        • HELOCS Deductible for Capital Improvements, IRS Says
        • Home Building & Remodeling Once Again Under Attack in Springfield
        • Board Meeting, Installation Banquet & Veto Session
        • Election Night Projections 2018
        • Vote Now for a Home Builder Hero
        • Veto Session in Springfield
        • Four Favors
        • HBAI Takes on the Tasks at Hand
        • HomePAC – IBS – Associate Member Appreciation Month
        • Last Chance for the Century Ride Pledge Drive
        • HBAI Mid-Year Report
        • End of Session Wrap UP
        • Board Meeting, Installation Banquet & Veto Session
      • 2017 Speaker Topics
    • Voter Voice
  • Calendar of Events

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  • Home
  • HBAI
    • By-Laws
    • Executive Officers
    • 2023 HBAI Board of Directors
    • HBAI Staff
    • Member Benefits
    • Reasons to Join
    • Join HBAI
    • Blog
    • Contact
  • Members
    • Local HBA’s
    • Locate Local HBA’s by County
    • Map of HBA’s
    • Member Benefits
    • Educational Opportunities
    • HBAI Talk
      • 2019 Talk
        • Healthcare Survey for Members
      • Talk 2018
        • Things Learned at the Builders Show
        • Board of Directors Meeting @ IBS 2018 Pictures
        • HBAI Reception at IBS
      • Talk 2017
        • Advocacy Leadership Award
        • HBAI on a Mission
        • Housing Hall of Fame Inductees 2017
        • Builder Member Rebates
  • Government Affairs
    • State Laws You Should Know
      • Introduction to State Laws You Should Know
      • Illinois Recreational Cannabis Law Effective January 1, 2020
      • Employee Business Expense Reimbursements 2019
      • Farmland Preservation
      • Home Repair & Remodeling Act
      • Illinois Building Code Freeze
      • Illinois Energy Conservation Code
      • Implied Warranty Law
      • Interest Paid on Certificates of Error
      • Model Home Act
      • Illinois Building Code Freeze
      • Passive Radon Systems
      • Proportionate Property Improvement Valuations – “Pro-Rata Valuations”
      • Public Construction Bonds
      • Septic System Turf Battle
      • Vacant Lot Act
    • HomePAC
    • HBAI Speaker
      • 2022 Speaker Topics
        • January Update
      • 2021 Speaker Topics
        • HBAI OPPOSES MANDATES FOR ELECTRIC CAR CHARGERS & THE STRETCH ENERGY CODE
        •   Home Builders Survive Union Ambush
        • HBAI OPPOSES SB2896 – CAR CHARGERS & STRETCH ENERGY CODE
        • 2021 State Energy Code Price Tag – $10,000 Per Home
      • 2020 Speaker Topics
        • ComEd Deadline to Grandfather Existing Subdivisions/Developments
        • Vote No on the Progressive Tax
        • End of Session Report
        • Session Update 5/20/2020
        • Home Builders Oppose Car Charger Mandate
        • WCC Repeals Work Comp for COVID-19
        • COVID-19 Added to Work Comp Claims
        • Pandemic Housing Issues
        • Home Construction Deemed Essential!
        • Sticker Shock!!!
      • 2019 Speaker Topics
        • Senate Holds Hearing on Subcontractor Failure-to-Pay Bill
        •  2019 Illinois General Assembly Highlights  —  Part II
        • 2019 Illinois General Assembly Highlights — Part I
        • Oppose HB2838 — General Contractors held liable for Subs’ Employee Wages
        • March Madness in Springfield
        • Legislative Committee Begins Its Work
      • 2018 Speaker Topics
        • End of Session Wrap UP
        • General Assembly Approaching Adjournment
        • HBAI to Oppose County Recorders Legislation
        • Lobby Day Harvest Housing Victories
        • HBAI Lobby Day a BIG Success!
        • More Labor Bills – More Anti-Business Legislation – More Regulation
        • Home Builders Prepare to Defend the Public Construction Bond Act
        • HBAI Spring Session Report
        • HELOCS Deductible for Capital Improvements, IRS Says
        • Home Building & Remodeling Once Again Under Attack in Springfield
        • Board Meeting, Installation Banquet & Veto Session
        • Election Night Projections 2018
        • Vote Now for a Home Builder Hero
        • Veto Session in Springfield
        • Four Favors
        • HBAI Takes on the Tasks at Hand
        • HomePAC – IBS – Associate Member Appreciation Month
        • Last Chance for the Century Ride Pledge Drive
        • HBAI Mid-Year Report
        • End of Session Wrap UP
        • Board Meeting, Installation Banquet & Veto Session
      • 2017 Speaker Topics
    • Voter Voice
  • Calendar of Events

State Laws You Should Know

Illinois Recreational Cannabis Law Effective January 1, 2020

 

This article is intended to prepare you, as an Illinois Employer, to interact with your employees in a legal manner under the new law in Illinois allowing recreational use of cannabis. It is authored by Sarah R. Sehy, Attorney at Law, with the Tapella & Eberspacher Law Firm, 6009 Park Drive, Charleston, IL 61920, (217) 394-5885, and is being republished here with their permission.

 

Feel free to also contact Bill Ward at billward@hbai.org, if you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter. 

 

Illinois’s cannabis laws are set to change with the new year; right now is the time to make sure your company’s policies and practices are up to date and in line with new laws.

Beginning January 1, 2020, possession and use of recreational cannabis will be legal for adults over the age of 21 in Illinois.  As an employer, you may find yourself trying to balance safety concerns with changes to the law and wondering what you can and cannot do.

Illinois’s new cannabis laws interact with existing labor and employment laws in a way that you, as an employer, need to understand.  For federally-regulated, safety-sensitive positions, such as commercial drivers, aviators, federal contractors, and school bus drivers, cannabis use remains barred and a positive drug test by such an employee is grounds for termination.

For non-federally regulated employees, Illinois’s Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act bars an employer from taking adverse employment actions for “use of a lawful product.” As of January 1, 2020, that will mean a person cannot be terminated from employment for using cannabis off-duty or for testing positive for cannabis. Pre-employment drug screens may check for cannabis use, but a positive result for cannabis cannot be the basis for an adverse employment decision. Ultimately, this may mean you should forego screening for cannabis as part of your hiring process.

Employers are still permitted to adopt and enforce a zero tolerance, drug free workplace policy that bans cannabis from the workplace and prohibits the use of it while an employee is at the workplace, performing a job duty, or on call.  You may terminate or otherwise discipline an employee for being under the influence of cannabis while at work.  However, because of the way cannabis is metabolized, a person can test positive days after use and long after any actual impairment, and so, the basis for an adverse employment action cannot solely be a failed drug test.  Instead, the employee must demonstrate observable signs of impairment, such as impacts to their speech, dexterity, coordination, or other unusual behavior.

If you suspect an employee is under the influence of cannabis, you should contemporaneously document the behaviors that formed your belief.  Employees have the right to challenge the basis of a termination if they feel their employer did not have evidence that they were impaired, although no formal hearing process is required.  The new cannabis laws provide a safe harbor for employers who possessed a good faith belief an employee was impaired, and you should take steps to memorialize your good faith belief in the same manner you would document any other bad behavior by an employee.  We recommend a contemporaneous writing, such as an email or memorandum which outlines the observed behaviors, having two managers or supervisors sign off on these observations, collecting witness statements, and preserving surveillance footage.

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About us

The HBAI is the watchdog for builders, contractors, developers and all those involved in home building across Illinois. We work hard to keep legislation and regulatory action favorable to the industry--and especially to how it affects our members' bottom lines. We keep you informed, connected, and aligned with the best the state has to offer - including ongoing certification and affinity programs, our annual Lobby Day, and opportunities to serve on our board or in other capacities. Let us know when and how you are ready to get involved.

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