Michigan Civil Service Commission Pushes to Eliminate Pre-Employment Cannabis Testing for Government Jobs

MICHIGAN – State officials in Michigan are advocating for the cessation of pre-employment drug testing for marijuana among the majority of government job applicants. Additionally, they are proposing a retroactive rescission of sanctions for individuals previously penalized due to positive THC tests.

According to Marijuana Moment, The Michigan Civil Service Commission unveiled proposed amendments to the government’s employment code, as well as initiating a public comment period on the amendments.

“Ending this pre-employment testing for marijuana would not affect the availability of reasonable-suspicion or follow-up testing for marijuana of classified employees, including candidates who become employees,”  said State Personnel Director, John Gnodtke.

The current state code states that agencies associated with the state must drug test applicants for cannabis and other substances. However, the first proposed change aims to amend the code to include, “except that an appointing authority shall not require testing for marijuana for a pre‐employment drug test of a new hire to a position that is not test‐designated.”

Furthermore, the current code is written so that individuals who test positive for cannabis during the application process for classified positions currently encounter the forfeiture of their conditional offers, accompanied by a three-year prohibition on applying to other state agencies.

Under the proposed amendment, individuals who are under an active three-year probation due to a positive THC test for a non-test-designated position would have the opportunity to request the prospective rescission of the sanction, as outlined in the regulations.

To provide public feedback on the proposed amendments, individuals are asked to submit their comments to the commission via email at MCSC-OGC@mi.gov. The deadline for submitting comments is June 23.

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