There are illegal drugs, and then there's marijuana

A recent case from the Arkansas Court of Appeals serves as a reminder about dealing with employees found to have marijuana in their system after an accident. Now that Arkansas permits marijuana for medical purposes, employers and workers' compensation insurers must be careful in dealing with injured employees who test positive for marijuana.

Facts

As part of his job, Corey Allen was required to move large conveyor-belt parts that weighed approximately one ton. He would take a strap attached to a crane, adjust the strap around the center of the conveyor, and balance the conveyor so it would not swing back and forth. The conveyor part could then be lifted by the crane, which was operated by remote control.

Allen was performing his job duties, prepping the conveyor after just returning to work from his lunch break. He couldn't balance the conveyor part to his satisfaction, so he braced his body against it to keep it from swinging too much. He tried to lower the part, but it came down too fast and hit the remote control he was holding, crushing his right thumb and index finger.

Allen was taken to the hospital for treatment, where hospital staff also performed a drug screen as required by the employer in the event of an employee injury. The nurse who administered the test reported Allen didn't want to take the drug test and asked if the requirement could be waived. She was informed it could not, and ultimately, the test was performed. He tested positive for marijuana and was terminated from his job because of the positive drug test.