Florida employers may discipline workers for off-duty medical marijuana use, even when those workers hold valid prescriptions, a state appeals court ruled. The decision overturns a lower court’s finding that Hillsborough County improperly placed a paramedic on unpaid leave following a positive drug test.
The Second District Court of Appeal determined the trial court had misapplied Florida’s medical marijuana laws and the county’s collective bargaining agreement. The lower court had required proof of on-duty impairment before allowing discipline, a standard the appeals panel called legally unsound.
Court rejects accommodation requirement
The appeals court stated Florida’s constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana does not compel employers to permit its use, whether during work hours or outside them. State rules explicitly permit drug-free workplace policies, the decision noted.
“The trial court’s reasoning relies on a chain of interpretation that fails at every point,” the appeals court wrote. The dispute involved a paramedic who failed a routine drug screening. Hillsborough County responded by placing the employee on unpaid leave, citing its drug-free workplace policy and the terms of its labor agreement.
The lower court had ruled the county needed confirmation from a medical review officer before treating the test as valid. It also found the county’s policy clashed with Florida’s medical marijuana statute. The appeals court rejected this view, stating the law does not grant a right to use marijuana at work or protect employees from consequences for off-duty use.
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A narrow ruling with broader implications
The appeals court stressed its decision applied only to the specific circumstances of the case—the interplay between state law, the county’s drug-free policy, and its collective bargaining agreement. “How other employers, or employees subject to different CBAs or different policies, may address medical marijuana is not before us,” the court noted in a footnote.
Only a portion of states that have legalized medical marijuana also prohibit employers from discriminating against workers who have a valid prescription. Florida’s law, as interpreted by the appeals court, does not require accommodation of any employee who works while under the influence of medical marijuana regardless of where that use occurred.
A concurring judge pointed out the ruling did not fully resolve the matter, leaving the plaintiff’s accommodation claims under Florida’s Civil Rights Act unresolved. The case returned to the trial court with instructions to enter final summary judgment for the county.
Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment legalizing certain medical use in 2016. As of March 2025, 38 out of 50 states had legalized medical use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Workers with medical marijuana prescriptions in Florida have no legal safeguards against discipline if they test positive, regardless of whether they were impaired while working. Workplace policies continue to evolve as laws shift, but this ruling reinforces employer authority in Florida.
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