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Bill would remove marijuana from comp drug impairment list

Posted On: Jan. 7, 2021 12:45 PM CST

marijuana

Kansas lawmakers have proposed a bill that would remove marijuana from the state’s drug impairment list and eliminate the conclusive presumption that injured workers who test positive for certain levels of drugs following an injury are not entitled to workers compensation.

H.B. 2040 would create a rebuttable presumption that an injured worker who tests positive for an alcohol concentration of greater than 0.04 or drugs such as cocaine, opiates or methamphetamines is not entitled to workers comp. The bill would also remove marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinol from the list of drugs included in the impairment list.

State lawmakers also introduced H.B. 2016, which would replace current legislation to consider a workplace accident compensable if the accident was a “substantial” factor in causing the injury. Currently, the law states that an accident is compensable if it was the “prevailing” factor in causing the injury.

If signed into law, the bills would take effect immediately after their publication in the state’s statute book.