Reuters..
A divided U.S. appeals court on Monday said a New Jersey law barring employment discrimination against cannabis users does not allow for private lawsuits, and tossed out a proposed class action against Walmart.
The Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 ruling, opens new tab said that because the state law approved by voters in 2020 did not create any remedies for workers who sue for violations, the legislature must have intended to leave enforcement to the state alone.
“The lack of an express remedy is better understood as a deliberate choice not to provide a remedy rather than an oversight of an intended remedy,” Circuit Judge Peter Phipps wrote.
The court affirmed the dismissal of a 2022 lawsuit by Erick Zanetich, who was denied a job as a security guard by Walmart after he tested positive for cannabis, claiming the company’s drug screening policy violated the New Jersey law.
