Assembly Bill 772 / Senate Bill 702 Introduced January 24th, 2020 by Senators Smith and Larson; cosponsored by Representatives Sortwell, Bowen, Anderson, Brostoff, Emerson, Spreitzer and Stubbs. Assembly Bill 772 has been sent to the Assembly Committee on Small Business Development with Rep. Brandtjen serving as Chair and Rep. Edming serving as Vice Chair. In the Senate, the bill was sent to the Senate Committee on Labor and Regulatory Reform chaired by Senator Nass, vice chaired by Senator Wanggaard.

Wisconsin is now surrounded by legal marijuana in some form. In the states that have legal adult use marijuana, well more than half of the population of our entire country is represented. Marijuana can be purchased over the counter by non resident adults while in legal states. Wisconsin residents should not be discriminated against upon returning home.  Any citizen 21 or older can travel from a non legal state to a legal state and consume marijuana, only to face issues with employment upon return to Wisconsin.

This bill, subject to certain exceptions, limits the liability of an employer that does not require an employee or prospective employee to submit to a test for the presence of any tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the active ingredient in marijuana, synthetic cannabinoid, or a controlled substance analog to THC or a synthetic cannabinoid in his or her system (drug testing) as a condition of employment.

The bill does not apply to the drug testing of an employee or prospective employee who is subject to drug testing under 1) any regulation promulgated by the federal Department of Transportation that requires drug testing of an employee or prospective employee or any rule promulgated by the Department of Transportation of this state adopting such a regulation for purposes of enforcing the requirements of that regulation with respect to intrastate commerce; 2) any contract entered into between the federal government and an employer or any grant of financial assistance from the federal government to an employer that requires drug testing of employees and prospective employees as a condition of receiving the contract or grant; 3) any federal statute, regulation, order, or other requirement or condition that requires drug testing of employees and prospective employees for purposes of safety or security; 4) any substance abuse prevention program under a collective bargaining agreement or under the current law that requires such programs for public works and public utility projects; 5) rules promulgated by the Law Enforcement Standards Board requiring drug testing of prospective law enforcement officers, tribal law enforcement officers, jail officers, and secure detention officers; or 6) any employer requirement that an employee be a licensed private security person and carry a firearm in the course of employment.

Employers, employees and Wisconsin will benefit from the passage of this legislation in multiple ways. Now is the time to urge your legislator to support this bill and help educate them.