That’s essentially what the Court told the plaintiff in Zanetich v. Wal-Mart Stores East, Inc. In that case, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act, or “CREAMMA,” did not provide a private cause of action for a job applicant who was conditionally hired pending the results of a drug test, which – as you may guess from this post – he failed due to a positive test result for cannabis.
The Third Circuit analyzed the legislative history, policy, and text of CREAMMA, and determined that (1) the law did not confer any special benefit to a protected class, but rather, it applied to all individuals; (2) the New Jersey Legislature did not provide an explicit or implicit intent to provide a remedy; and (3) a private cause of action would not further the purpose of CREAMMA, since “courts would be protecting and compensating users of illegal cannabis.”
Finally, the Third Circuit held that Wal-Mart did not violate public policy (often called a Pierce action) for not hiring the plaintiff, because such a public policy only extended to actual employees, rather than job applicants.
Still, even with this ruling, employees and employers should be aware of the possibility that cannabis may be prescribed to a prospective employee by a medical professional, and therefore disability protections under New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination and the Americans with Disabilities Act may apply.
As always, contact your employment lawyer for assistance on these job-related issues!