WALL & CEILING CONTRACTORS DRUG‐FREE CARD PROGRAM STATEMENT ON RECENT BALLOT INITIATIVE I‐502 DRUG TESTING COMMITTEE

WALL & CEILING CONTRACTORS DRUG‐FREE CARD PROGRAM
STATEMENT ON RECENT BALLOT INITIATIVE I‐502
DRUG TESTING COMMITTEE

Passage of I‐502 which went into effect on December 6, 2012, does not affect this drug testing
program in any way. The use of marijuana is still prohibited by the program’s policy which
applies to employers and employees. If you test positive for THC (marijuana) you will be
immediately placed on “Not O.K. to Work” status and referred to the Employee Assistance
Program (EAP).

Because of the obvious conflict between the federal Controlled Substance Abuse Act and the
new Washington laws, we can expect more developments shortly as these newly authorized
state‐regulated marijuana markets begin to take shape.

How does this affect employers? The initiative does not change the ability of employersto
maintain their current employment policies, nor does it prevent them from creating whatever
policies they see fit, or as negotiated / created by the Labor‐Management Committee If
employers do not currently allow off‐site marijuana use by employees, they can continue to
prohibit it. Neither requires employers to accommodate the use of marijuana by their
employees. A recent Washington State Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Teletech, clearly
stated that Washington State employers didn’t even have to accommodate workers with a
doctor’s authorization to use marijuana under Washington’s Medical Use of Marijuana Act
(MUMA).

Does this affect your current drug testing policy? No. The drug testing that your company
and millions of employers around the world have been doing for decades was never based on
the assumption that the user was doing something illegal under a criminal law – instead it has
always been based on SAFETY and the efficiency of the workforce. No one who has failed a
drug test has been reported to the police or charged criminally. Nothing changes after
I‐502 as far as workplace drug testing.

Drug Free Business is the program administrator. Please contact them if you have questions or need clarification.
http://www.drugfreebusiness.org/wall_and_ceiling_contractors phone: 425‐488‐9755