Florida Employers Are Required to Accommodate Off-Duty Use of Medical Marijuana

A Florida state court recently found Hillsborough County was required to accommodate an employee’s off-duty use of medical marijuana. In Giambrone v. Hillsborough County, the court found the county violated the Florida Civil Rights Act’s prohibition against disability discrimination by failing to provide a reasonable accommodation for a firefighter paramedic’s lawful use of medical cannabis. The firefighter filed suit after being placed on unpaid administrative leave following a positive random drug test unrelated to workplace injury or accident. In addition to no evidence of impairment, he successfully argued the Florida Drug-Free Workplace Act does not expressly prohibit the use of off-site medical cannabis which he used under physician’s orders to treat his anxiety, PTSD, and insomnia, conditions which qualify as disabilities. Further, the parties’ collective bargaining agreement allowed employees to report the use of prescriptions authorized under federal or state law upon testing positive on a drug test, which is what happened here.

The County contended that the firefighter’s medical marijuana prescription did not exempt him from compliance with federal law and the county’s drug-free workplace. The county also said that his refusal to comply with follow-up testing violated the collective bargaining agreement and his return to work would undermine public confidence. And the county argued that he did not request an accommodation for use of medical marijuana in advance and if he had it would have been unreasonable under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Florida law.

In December 2024, the court granted summary judgment for the firefighter. The court found the Florida State Constitution (unlike the ADA) requires employers to accommodate off-site use of medical marijuana. The court noted that this firefighter was not a safety sensitive employee who carried a firearm, distinguishing a case where Department of Corrections was not required to accommodate a correctional officer’s use of medical marijuana given federal firearm possession laws. And the court found the county could not rely on internal drug testing policies that did not notify employees that medical cannabis would be treated any differently than other prescription medications.