Dave's Not Here Man…His Termination For Smoking Dope At Work Was Upheld

On August 1, 2018 (maybe) the federal government's plan to legalize recreational marijuana will come into effect and no doubt, employers will be faced with questions about how to manage weed in the workplace. Do not expect the law to provide employees with carte blanche to get high at work. A recent decision by a labour arbitrator provides a good reason to believe that discipline up to the point of discharge will remain the reasonable response to employees' drug use.

In University of Windsor and CUPE Local 1001, two janitorial staff were terminated following an investigation into allegations that they had smoked marijuana during their shift. The grievors were sitting in one of their cars while on break during a shift at the University. They were approached by campus police and the officer noticed a strong smell of freshly-smoked marijuana. The officer asked the grievors if they had smoked marijuana, and if they had any marijuana on them. They initially denied, but