LANSING (WWJ) -- Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is taking a stand when it comes to pot and your job.
In a brief filed before the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Commission, Nessel argues a person fired for marijuana use outside of the workplace should still be eligible for unemployment benefits.
Three cases that have been examined before the Commission all deal with whether an employee should be disqualified from collecting unemployment if they are fired solely for using marijuana on their personal time -- meaning marijuana was not used on the job or on the employers’ premises, and did not impair the employee during work hours.
To support her argument, Nessel points to Michigan voters’ legalizing recreational marijuana in 2018.
“The people spoke loud and clear when they voted in 2018 to legalize marijuana once and for all,” Nessel said. “Nobody over 21 can be penalized or denied any right or privilege solely for legally using marijuana, and employers cannot control their employees’ private lives by calling the legal use of marijuana outside of work hours ‘misconduct’.”
The Commission is continuing to hear a number of cases on the issue.
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