Brandon Coats works on his computer at his home in Denver on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012. The Colorado case of Brandon Coats is giving employers pause. Coats, 33, was a telephone operator for Dish Network. Paralyzed as a teenager in a car crash, he's also been a medical marijuana patient in Colorado since 2009. He was fired in 2010 for failing a company drug test, though the employer didn't claim he was ever impaired on the job. Coats sued, and the case is pending before the Colorado Court of Appeals. The case will test the bounds of Colorado's Lawful Off-Duty Activities Law, which says workers can't be dismissed for legal behavior off the clock. It was enacted in 2007 to protect tobacco users. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
Legal pot complicates drug-free work policies
Brandon Coats works on his computer at his home in Denver on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012. The Colorado case of Brandon Coats is giving employers pause. Coats, 33, was a telephone operator for Dish Network. Paralyzed as a teenager in a car crash, he's also been a medical marijuana patient in Colorado since 2009. He was fired in 2010 for failing a company drug test, though the employer didn't claim he was ever impaired on the job. Coats sued, and the case is pending before the Colorado Court of Appeals. The case will test the bounds of Colorado's Lawful Off-Duty Activities Law, which says workers can't be dismissed for legal behavior off the clock. It was enacted in 2007 to protect tobacco users. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
By KRISTEN WYATT and GENE JOHNSON
Associated Press /
December 8, 2012
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‘‘If a drug is legal, as long as it’s not abused or misused, it would not be something covered by the policy,’’ Caulfield said.
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Find Kristen Wyatt at http://www.twitter.com/APkristenwyatt
Johnson reported from Seattle and can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/GeneAPSeattle
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