AG Nessel: Legal Marijuana Use Shouldn't Disqualify Someone From Unemployment Benefits

(CBS DETROIT) - On Aug. 9, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a brief before the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Commission arguing that a person fired for marijuana use outside of the workplace should still qualify for unemployment benefits.

What this means is that marijuana was not used during work hours, on the employers' premises, and that it did not impair the employee during work hours.

The brief states in part, "The People reserved for themselves the personal freedom to consume and cultivate marijuana, and the State cannot deprive an individual of unemployment benefits for simply engaging in this legal activity. Employers still generally retain their ability to hire and fire at will, but Michigan employees need not question whether their legal, off-duty conduct will leave them without unemployment benefits should an employer exercise that ability. Arguments to the contrary hinge on outmoded understandings of marijuana that the People of Michigan have rejected, once and for all."

Part of Nessel's argument points to the fact that Michigan voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2018.

"The people spoke loud and clear when they voted in 2018 to legalize marijuana once and for all," Nessel said. "Nobody over 21 can be penalized or denied any right or privilege solely for legally using marijuana, and employers cannot control their employees' private lives by calling the legal use of marijuana outside of work hours 'misconduct'."

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