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Washington state employer reinstates worker fired over legal marijuana purchase

Posted On: Jul. 11, 2014 12:00 AM CST

While employers are waiting for the Colorado Supreme Court to decide whether companies can fire employees who use medical marijuana in that state, it appears that at least one employer in marijuana-friendly Washington state has decided that pot use isn't necessarily a cause for termination.

Temporary staffing firm TrueBlue Labor Ready in Tacoma, Washington reportedly fired one of its employees this week after news outlets showed him making the first legal recreational marijuana purchase in Washington state on Tuesday. One of the staffing agency's clients apparently saw Mr. Boyer on television, prompting TrueBlue to test Mr. Boyer for THC.

However, days after reports of Mr. Boyer being fired surfaced, TrueBlue reportedly offered him his job back. Mr. Boyer told Newsweek that TrueBlue prohibits workers from being high at work, but that he had taken Tuesday off to buy marijuana from Spokane Green Leaf.

Washington and Colorado employers interviewed by Business Insurance in April said they've been reiterating their drug-free workplace policies in light of marijuana legalization in those states.