Neighboring states to Wisconsin have recently passed laws making recreational marijuana use legal. The human resources hotline at MRA, a non-profit employer association, has seen an increase in calls about workplace drug testing over the last few months with employers were asking about possible implications for them. "It's still a little hazy," Michael Hyatt, HR government affairs director at MRA, says.
Michigan gave the green light to legally sell recreational marijuana on December 1 of last year, while those sales started January 1 this year in Illinois. With those two states, there are now 11 total states that permit recreational marijuana use. Employers are still able to require their employees not use marijuana even with the laws.
Eric Eisenmann, a partner at Milwaukee-based law firm Husch Blackwell, relates the concerns of businesses over drug testing amid low-unemployment. "We have a pre-employment drug test, but down the street, they don’t,” Eisenmann says, relaying what he is hearing from companies. They say they're “losing out on all these candidates who are using marijuana recreationally on the weekends who would otherwise have all the skills."