House passes Senate bill banning some WA employers from discriminating against cannabis users

Some employers in Washington would no longer be allowed to discriminate against applicants for their cannabis use outside of work under a Senate bill passed by the House on Wednesday.

Senate Bill 5123 is sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, and passed the House Wednesday with a 57-41 vote.

Rep. Shelley Kloba, D-Kirkland, spoke to the legislation before the bill’s final passage.

She said that cannabis is legal in Washington, and that workforce issues continue to be problematic with employers struggling to find enough people to fill positions. But some employers continue to require pre-employment drug tests.

“The emphasis of this bill is that a job applicant cannot be discriminated against because of legal behavior that they engaged in before they were hired,” Kloba said.

She noted that the bill does not apply to certain safety-related jobs. Law enforcement and first responders, for example, would still have to take pre-employment screenings under an amendment that was adopted on the House floor during the debates.

Kloba said that the bill doesn’t regulate cannabis screenings after an individual has been hired, so employees can still be tested if an employer suspects any impairment. And, she said, it doesn’t impact an employer’s ability to maintain a drug-free work policy.

The bill passed the Senate in February, and will now have to be sent back to the Senate for consideration of the amendments adopted Wednesday by House lawmakers. If the Senate concurs, the bill can be signed by Gov. Jay Inslee.

Rep. Suzanne Schmidt, R-Spokane Valley, spoke out against the bill prior to the bill’s passage, saying that she feels like rights are being taken away from employers with the legislation.

“This is a real safety issue,” Schmidt said. “Still under L&I, the Department of Labor and Industries, it is the employer’s responsibility to provide a safe work environment and we feel that this bill is taking that ability away from the employer.”

However, several Republicans voted in favor of the legislation Wednesday.

Washington became the first state to legalize recreational cannabis for adults 21 and older through an initiative on the ballot in 2012. The state is one of 21 states where recreational cannabis is legal.

Tetrahydrocannabinol, more commonly known as THC, can be detected through urine tests for several days, sometimes even weeks, after use, depending on how much a user consumes as well as other factors such as body fat percentages. THC is the compound in cannabis that gets users “high.”

Washington would become one of three states including California and Nevada to ban the practice of pre-employment screening, if the bill is signed by Inslee.

If signed by the governor, the bill would go into effect Jan. 1, 2024.