Although Pennsylvania has gone further than other states in regulating medical marijuana, employers' limits on handling the new medicine in the workplace remains murky.

That was the conclusion among the company representatives who attended the “'High' Alert: Marijuana in the Workplace — What Every Employer Needs to Know” presentation at Tuesday's annual forum of the Butler Human Resources Association, which was held at Butler Memorial Hospital.

Kate Koop-Irwin, an attorney with the law firm Tucker Arensberg, presented the information on state law regarding those who both work and take medical marijuana and what actions employers can and cannot take in the workplace regarding medical marijuana.

Koop-Irwin explained that unlike many states that have legalized the use of medical marijuana, Pennsylvania included a law that prohibits employers from discriminating against employees or prospective employees who are certified to use medical marijuana.

But another law says employers are not required by law to make accommodations for employees to use medical marijuana at their place of employment, Koop-Irwin said.

She added employers can create policies prohibiting employees from bringing medical marijuana to work or from dosing immediately before work.

Regarding an employer's ability to terminate an employee who is under the influence of medical marijuana, Koop-Irwin said their impairment would be impossible to prove without a blood test.

She said hair, breath and urine tests find marijuana in the system, but do not determine if someone is under the influence.

Employers can prohibit employees from being under the influence of medical marijuana in a few types of jobs known as “safety sensitive” or if their conduct on the job “falls below the standard” normally accepted in the position, according to medical marijuana law.

The safety sensitive jobs named in the law are operating or controlling government-controlled chemicals or high-voltage electricity, performing duties at heights or in confined spaces, including mining, and performing any tasks that threaten the life of the employee or his or her coworkers, Koop-Irwin said.

The problems with the section regarding employees whose performance is substandard and the employer suspects it is because of medical marijuana use, Koop-Irwin said, are that there is no definition of employee standards and that employers must clearly determine the employee is under the influence of medical marijuana, which is impossible without a blood test.

She said the phrase concerning threatening another's life if under the influence of marijuana is also difficult, because that standard can greatly differ depending on the position.

“Unfortunately, there is no defined standard of care,” Koop-Irwin said. “We as employers have to determine what the specific standards are in our fields.”

She said if an employer encounters an employee whose conduct falls below standards and the employer thinks it could be because of medical marijuana, they should be able to describe that conduct and pair it with a drug test.

“We recommend from a legal point of view that you be able to articulate how that employee fell below the standard of care,” Koop-Irwin said.

One human resource professional in attendance asked Koop-Irwin if an employee is required to disclose to an employer or prospective employer that they hold a medical marijuana card.

Koop-Irwin replied that unless the company has a policy determining safety sensitive positions, employees and candidates are not required to disclose that they have a medical marijuana card.

Another asked Koop-Irwin if employers can legally have disclosure policies, to which she replied that companies can create policies stating employees cannot work under the influence of medications that affect their job.

Koop-Irwin gave a list of recommendations regarding what employers can do in the face of the legalization of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania.

They included:

Reviewing job descriptions and hiring practices

Documenting legitimate reasons for employment action, like falling below standards of performance

Determining if their workplace is covered by state or federal drug-free workplace laws, such as transportation firms.

Those who attended were interested in the presentation but said they were still unclear on how to handle employees with medical marijuana cards.

Carolyn Graham, the business development and account manager at Specialized Staffing, said the presentation was well done and informative.

“There are still a lot of unknowns and things you don't think about,” she said. “There's no go-to manual, and you can't call a friend at a different business and say, 'What do you do?' because it's so new to all of us.”

Graham said she learned that those who use medical marijuana are protected under the law, but there are gray areas regarding being under the influence of the medicine at the user's place of employment.

“What's the definition of being under the influence at work and how do you test for it?” Graham said.

Particular to Specialized Staffing, Graham said many clients are small businesses and turn to her company for advice.

One client's business is based in the state of Indiana, and the client knows nothing about medical marijuana because it is not legal in her state.

“I thought it was important that we come (to the seminar),” Graham said.

Kristen Fuhrer of The Arc of Butler County said almost all of The Arc's employees care for adults with intellectual disabilities.

Because working impaired could cause a threat to the clients' lives, she wondered if her employees' jobs are considered safety sensitive.

Fuhrer said The Arc has a policy that requires employees to disclose if they are taking medication that would affect their performance, but no employee has ever done so.

“It's hard to enforce it,” Fuhrer said. “How do you make someone disclose that?”

Margie Woods of MSA in Cranberry Township said she gained a basic knowledge of the medical marijuana laws, but she is still confused about drug testing results and how the company can use them.

She said although MSA has seen no issues with medical marijuana use since the measure was approved by the state in January, she is glad she attended.

“It was a good presentation,” Woods said. “I'm always interested in hearing the ins and outs of medications.”

Deb Moran, the president-elect of the Butler Human Resources Association, said medical marijuana is a huge topic among employers right now.

“Employers are going to be dealing with it here,” Moran said. “Butler has a dispensary.”

She said she is also unclear on how the legalization of medical marijuana affects employers.

“There are so many things I think are really kind of gray,” she said.