New Jersey Court Lets Workers Sue Over Positive Cannabis Tests, Reversing 2024 Dismissal
Updated
Updated · The National Law Review · May 31
New Jersey Court Lets Workers Sue Over Positive Cannabis Tests, Reversing 2024 Dismissal
1 articles · Updated · The National Law Review · May 31
A three-judge New Jersey appellate panel ruled May 26 that applicants and employees can sue employers under CREAMMA if a positive cannabis test costs them a job.
The court revived Darlene Sanders’s case after Levari Group rescinded her offer when she declined to pay for a second drug test following a pre-employment result showing cannabis metabolites.
The panel reversed a 2024 trial-court dismissal, finding CREAMMA implicitly creates a private right of action because its anti-discrimination protections would otherwise be unenforceable and the law lacks an administrative enforcement scheme.
The judges also declined to follow a contrary 2024 Third Circuit view, a split that raises litigation risk for New Jersey employers using pre-employment cannabis testing.
The decision could influence courts in other legal-cannabis states weighing whether similar statutes let workers sue directly over hiring and employment decisions.
With job applicants now able to sue over cannabis tests, must New Jersey employers completely rethink their hiring and safety policies?
As New Jersey protects workers' cannabis rights, will a wave of similar lawsuits sweep across other legal states?
Landmark 2026 New Jersey Ruling Grants Employees Right to Sue for Off-Duty Cannabis Use Discrimination
Overview
On May 26, 2026, the New Jersey Appellate Division issued a landmark ruling in Sanders v. The Levari Group, LLC, fundamentally reshaping employment law by establishing a private right of action for job applicants and employees. This means individuals can now directly sue employers for discrimination based on lawful, off-duty cannabis use. The decision marks a major shift from earlier court interpretations, which had found no such right and left enforcement to the Cannabis Regulatory Commission. As a result, New Jersey employers must urgently review and update their drug testing and hiring policies to comply with this new legal standard.