SEMINAR TO INSTRUCT BUSINESSES OF THEIR ABILITY TO EXCLUDE MEDICAL
MARIJUANA

Montana businesses don't have to tolerate medical pot use by workers
or customers, Billings bosses were advised Tuesday.

Addressing the rising concerns about medical marijuana use in the
workplace, attorney Timothy A. Filz advised local business owners to
establish solid employee drug policies and flex their right of
refusal when confronted with medical marijuana drug use.

"You're not required to accommodate the use of medical marijuana in
the workplace," Filz said during an employer rights seminar
concerning medical marijuana laws.

The seminar, organized by the Billings Chamber of Commerce and
Convention and Visitor's Bureau, drew about 75 people who expressed
concerns ranging from stoned chauffeurs to hotel guests toking up.

"As an employer, it scares the hell out of me," said Steve Warlich,
owner of the Best Western Clock Tower Inn in Billings.

Warlich, a presenter at the seminar, said he has two medical
marijuana users on his staff of 31 workers. He's made it clear that
employees self-treating with medical marijuana aren't to show up for
work high and aren't to use marijuana while on the clock. Still, he
worries about his liabilities for workplace injuries related to
medical marijuana use.

"When this first came out, my first call was to our insurance agency
to see what goes and they simply were not really sure what to do with
it," Warlich said.

Filz said a business that correctly follows its legitimate employee
drug testing policy can use the test results to uphold its position
on medical marijuana use. The Montana Supreme Court upheld the
firing of an aluminum plant worker who failed a drug test and refused
to follow the return-to-work steps required by his employer. The
court also ruled the Americans with Disabilities Act couldn't prevent
someone from being fired for medical marijuana use.

Employers can also send someone home who isn't fit to do their job,
said Ruth French of Associated Employers. And workers can be told not
to return until they are in working shape.

"We never have to let our employees stay at work if we feel they
aren't fit for work," French said. "It doesn't matter why they can't
work. It doesn't matter what's happened. You don't need to know
what's going on."

French said Associated Employers will address medical marijuana in
the workplace during a seminar Sept. 14-16.