{"id":2305,"date":"2021-11-10T00:39:53","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T00:39:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/CAIiEKb9iH5oceOs_3ENNTEuzsMqGQgEKhAIACoHCAowk-T4CjDyst8CMPiZsgU"},"modified":"2021-11-10T00:39:53","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T00:39:53","slug":"oakland-officials-debate-plan-to-limit-testing-employees-for-cannabis-use-san-francisco-chronicle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=2305","title":{"rendered":"Oakland officials debate plan to limit testing employees for cannabis use – San Francisco Chronicle"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Oakland is considering whether to limit testing of current and prospective city employees for marijuana use, reflecting the push to normalize cannabis, which California voters made legal statewide for recreational use in 2016.<\/p>\n

If officials approve the measure, Oakland would be the first city in California to adopt the change, said Ellen Komp, the deputy director of California NORML, a nonprofit marijuana reform advocacy group that has been lobbying for similar changes at the state level.<\/p>\n

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Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan introduced a draft ordinance Tuesday at a public safety committee meeting that would prohibit drug testing current and prospective city employees for marijuana in most cases. Employees can still be drug tested if the federal government requires it or if an employer is suspected of on-the-job drug use.<\/p>\n

The four members of the public safety committee voted unanimously Tuesday to send the draft ordinance to the city administration to review and meet with unions to ensure it aligns with labor contracts. Once that happens, the ordinance will eventually go to the full City Council for a vote.<\/p>\n

In 1996, Oakland adopted a policy that an employee can be terminated if the use of alcohol or other drug affects job performance or puts another employee\u2019s safety at risk. A supervisor can require an employee to submit to a blood or urine drug test if they have \u201creasonable cause\u201d to believe the employee is \u201cunfit for duty.\u201d<\/p>\n

City policy states that employees who are commercial drivers must adhere to pre-employment drug tests. Drivers cannot refuse \u201cto submit to a postaccident, random, reasonable or follow up test for alcohol or controlled substance.\u201d<\/p>\n

City employees do not have to take a drug test as a condition of employment unless they fall under regulations enforced by the Department of Transportation, said Karen Boyd, a city spokesperson.<\/p>\n

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Boyd said the city only tests employees based on federal requirements.<\/p>\n

Kaplan argues the measure would help with city staffing shortages and would address what some city leaders say are unfair practices against prospective employees. But Boyd said federal drug testing requirements haven\u2019t contributed to vacancies.<\/p>\n

Kaplan said she\u2019s worried the city is \u201ctesting and punishing people for conduct that is legal and not job related.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boyd told The Chronicle that the city has not fired any employees for marijuana use off the job. She did not say whether any prospective employees had their offers rescinded due to a positive drug test.<\/p>\n

A report, unrelated to the city\u2019s drug testing rules, released Monday shows that the city has a 12.4% vacancy rate with 584 full-time budgeted positions still open. Officials did not respond to a request for information on how many employees the city has lost or hires it\u2019s been unable to make because of testing.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust like employees are not punished for having wine off the job when it does not impact their work performance, similarly they should not be punished for using cannabis off the job that does not impact their work performance,\u201d Kaplan said.<\/p>\n

Oakland\u2019s ordinance would still allow cannabis testing if there is reasonable suspicion that the employee is under the influence at work, but it would change the kind of testing permitted.<\/p>\n

Oakland\u2019s ordinance would prohibit cannabis metabolite testing, since those tests don\u2019t reflect immediate marijuana use. Cannabis metabolites are produced in the body after the drug is ingested and can show trace amounts for weeks after use.<\/p>\n

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Felipe Cuevas, chapter president of SEIU Local 1021, which represents about 2,000 members, said during Tuesday\u2019s meeting that current drug testing of metabolites is outdated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe current testing does not prove impairment at work,\u201d Cuevas said. \u201cIt\u2019s just not fair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cuevas told The Chronicle that a few months ago the city rescinded a job offer to someone in the public works department after they tested positive for marijuana.<\/p>\n

Advocates say it\u2019s fairer to use blood and saliva tests.<\/p>\n