Amazon to drop testing jobseekers for cannabis, with exceptions

The company said it will continue to test workers for other drugs and perform “impairment tests” on the job. Some roles may still require a marijuana test.

Amazon said Tuesday that it plans to stop testing job seekers for marijuana in many cases.

The company, the second largest private employer in the U.S. behind Walmart, is making the change as states legalize cannabis or introduce laws prohibiting employers from testing for it, the Associated Press reported.

In March, a New York man sued Amazon, saying the company withdrew his job offer at an Amazon warehouse for testing positive for marijuana, despite the city’s 2020 ban on employers from testing applicants for cannabis.

Amazon said in a blog post that it will continue to test workers for other drugs and perform “impairment tests” at work. And the company said some roles may still require a cannabis test as per regulations from the Department of Transportation.

Seattle-based Amazon also said Tuesday that it will support state legalization of marijuana by urging lawmakers to pass the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Exungement Act of 2021.

In 2019, Market Watch reported on a New Jersey man who was fired from his position as a warehouse worker at Amazon after his marijuana use was discovered. According to reports on the lawsuit filed at the time, the man claimed he was “blacklisted” by other jobs at Amazon-owned companies such as Whole Foods.

According to court files reported by Market Watch, the worker said he was earning $ 14.10 an hour plus benefits at the time and had been promoted twice while at the company. The man had a government-issued card based on a medical certificate stating that he was allowed to use medical cannabis. His attorney told Market Watch that his client never used cannabis before going to work and was not impaired while at work.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.