Cannabis and Employment Law

Credits in

General Icons 1.00 General

Practice Areas:

Cannabis

Icon About This Course

The legalization of cannabis presents numerous novel legal issues for employers and employees.

Once illegal for all purposes, in most states, questions now arise about whether an employee should be drug tested and whether their medical marijuana use must be accommodated under conflicting state and federal laws. What if you are a cannabis business such as a grow facility? Do the answers to these questions change? What are the factors to consider in your client’s employment decisions? What policies should be adopted and what do you need to watch out for? In short, what are you required and not required to do under the law when your state legalizes cannabis?

If you are an attorney who may be advising on these issues or a business owner seeking to understand the complexities of employment law in the cannabis space, you should attend this program. The program will contain a history of cannabis legalization, an explanation of employment law principles, and a discussion of case law to date on employment issues related to cannabis. As a noteworthy and exciting component, this program will conclude with a lively and interactive executive roundtable discussion with the nation’s top cannabis companies’ human resource professionals and legal teams to tell their war stories, answer your questions, and relay their HR successes and challenges in this evolving area of law.

Learning Objectives:

  • Discover the legalities of cannabis legalization
  • Explore the intersection of cannabis and employment law
  • Investigate and take in an Executive Roundtable discussion on this relevant and controversial legal topic

About the Presenters

Lisa Pittman, Esq.

Pittman Legal

Practice Area: Trial

Lisa L. Pittman founded Pittman Legal in April 2022 in Austin, Texas, after seven years’ experience in the cannabis industry in Texas, Colorado, and other states. Ms. Pittman applies her 25 year background litigating commercial disputes in numerous subject matters to aggressively negotiate contracts for her clients and to set them up to avoid future litigation. Ms. Pittman focuses her practice on investors, farmers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and others supporting the emerging cannabis and psychedelics industries, and she also handles governmental relations. She is a Non-Resident Fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, Drug Policy Program, a member of the ...

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Roscoe J. Mutz, Esq.

Farhang and Medcoff

Practice Area: Employment Law

Roscoe Mutz is an attorney with a broad litigation background, including commercial litigation, employment law, real estate disputes, condominium and homeowner association disputes, financial regulatory compliance and audit advice, litigation and compliance issues involving HIPAA, wage and hour law, and the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, personal injury and products liability, construction law, and wrongful death.Roscoe regularly represents employers before state and federal administrative agencies regarding allegations of discrimination and/or retaliation involving Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and other applicable statutes and regulations. Roscoe also ...

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John Lord

LivWell

Practice Area: Other

Since entering the cannabis industry 10 years ago, John has been a proactive member of the cannabis business community including his recent appointment to Chairman of the Cannabis Trade Federation. He has been instrumental in guiding the industry towards competent regulation and educating the public on responsible consumption, including testifying for the U.S. Senate Banking Committee regarding regulations around banking in the cannabis industry, in support of the SAFE Banking Act.John brings over 30 years of business management experience from the highly regulated industries of dairy farming and baby goods manufacturing. Prior to LivWell, John created a successful baby products ...

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Cory Pearson SHRM-CP

AB46 Investments

Practice Area: Other

Cory Pearson SHRM-CP is a Human Resources Business Partner for AB46 Investments in Tucson. Relatively new to the cannabis industry, she previously worked in HR and Operation roles in the corporate retail realm for several years. She is working directly on-site in cultivation to support leadership and the workforce. Her areas of focus are organizational strategy, learning and development, and workplace communication. She has a Master of Fine Arts and a Bachelor’s in Communication, both focusing on rhetoric and writing.

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Margo W. O'Donnell, Esq.

Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP

Practice Area: Labor Law (+ 2 other areas)

Margo is a nationally recognized employment attorney with more than twenty-five years of experience litigating complex and “bet the company” employment claims. Margo’s cases involve high stakes restrictive covenants and trade secrets, whistleblower claims, wage-and-hour issues, and statutory claims of harassment and discrimination. Margo also acts as a crisis manager and business advisor to her clients on best practices for workplace safety, compensation, leave issues, employment agreements, diversity and inclusion, individual and group discharges, and internal investigations. She has been widely recognized as one of the top employment attorneys in the country.Margo serves as outside employment counsel for many clients ...

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