Amazon.com Inc. on Tuesday announced it is adjusting its drug testing policy for employees in light of emerging state laws that permit marijuana for recreational use.
Dave Clark, CEO of Worldwide Consumer for Seattle-based Amazon, wrote in a blog post that while “(i)n the past, like many employers, we’ve disqualified people from working at Amazon if they tested positive for marijuana use” and that the company is changing course: “We will no longer include marijuana in our comprehensive drug screening program for any positions not regulated by the Department of Transportation, and will instead treat it the same as alcohol use. We will continue to do impairment checks on the job and will test for all drugs and alcohol after any incident.”
Mr. Clark added that the company’s public policy team is supporting The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2021, pending federal legislation that would legalize marijuana, expunge criminal records and invest in impacted communities.
Amazon.com Inc. has struck its first telehealth service deal and will offer it to about half of fitness equipment maker Precor Inc.’s 800 employees, MedCity News reported citing Insider. According to the report, Amazon is not charging the usual per-member per-month fee charged by most telehealth firms, but instead charging on the basis of how many of the company’s employees are actually using the service. For companies with lots of covered employees, this could be a more appealing payment model in the long run.