Discrimination in Employment: Use of Cannabis

(a)It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person in hiring, or any term or condition of employment, or otherwise penalizing a person, if the discrimination is based upon any of the following:

(1)the person’s use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace. This paragraph does not prohibit an employer from discriminating in hiring, or any term or condition of employment, or otherwise penalize a person based on scientifically valid preemployment drug screening conducted through methods that do not screen for nonpsychoactive cannabis metabolites; or

(2)an employer-required drug screening test that has found the person to have nonpsychoactive cannabis metabolites in their hair, blood, urine, or other bodily fluids. CH. 12 MEDICAL PRACTICES - PART II

(b)Nothing in this Act permits an employee to possess, to be impaired by, or to use cannabis on the job, or affect the rights or obligations of an employer to maintain a drug-free and alcohol-free workplace, or any other rights or obligations of an employer specified by federal law or regulation.

(c)This Act does not apply to an employee in the building and construction trades, law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency responders, and other positions where public safety is concerned, medical professionals involved in patient care, transportation operators, teachers, child care providers, the Guam Waterworks Authority or the government water and wastewater utility, the Guam Power Authority or government power utility, and the Judiciary of Guam.

(d)This Act does not apply to applicants or employees hired for positions that require a federal government background investigation or security clearance in accordance with regulations issued by the United States Department of Defense pursuant to Part 117 of Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or equivalent regulations applicable to other agencies.

(e)This Act does not preempt state or federal laws requiring applicants or employees to be tested for controlled substances, including laws and regulations requiring applicants or employees to be tested, or the manner in which they are tested, as a condition of employment, receiving federal funding or federal licensing-related benefits, or entering into a federal contract.

(f)For the purpose of drug screening on Guam, the presence of cannabis metabolites shall not be considered an illicit substance for justification of a positive drug test result.

(g)No employer shall rely on the presence of cannabis metabolites in a drug screening result for any employment related decision affecting an applicant.

(h)The use of the word “employer” in this Act includes any individual, partnership, association, corporation, business, trust, legal representative, government entity or instrumentality, or any organized group of persons acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee, but shall not include the United States government, or employers engaged in contracts with the federal government. ----------