On December 4, 2019, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed into law Senate Bill 1557, which makes various changes to the Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (the “Cannabis Act”), including providing much-needed clarity with respect to potential employer liability.
The Cannabis Act, which legalizes (under Illinois state law) the adult recreational use of cannabis, goes into effect January 1, 2020. It permits employers to adopt reasonable zero-tolerance or drug-free workplace policies so long as those policies are applied in a nondiscriminatory manner, in addition to affirming an employer’s right to discipline or terminate an employee for violating an employer’s workplace drug policies.