DENVER, Colo., June 15, 2015—The nation and state’s leading small-business association today thanked the Colorado Supreme Court for upholding a lower court’s decision on a medical marijuana case with implications beyond the state’s borders.
“We applaud the Court in its decision allowing businesses to maintain a safe environment for their employees and the public,” said Tony Gagliardi, Colorado state director for the National Federation of Independent Business, America’s largest small-business association. “It was clearly stated when Colorado approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes that employers were under no obligation to change their current policy on drug use.”
In the case of Coats v. Dish Network, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the company, explaining: “The term ‘lawful’ as it is used in [Colorado’s Lawful Activities Statute] is not restricted in any way, and we decline to engraft a state law limitation onto the term. Therefore, an activity such as medical marijuana use that is unlawful under federal law is not a ‘lawful’ activity under [our] Lawful Activities Statute.”
Added Karen Harned, executive director of the NFIB Small Business Legal Center, “Small-business owners rely on drug policies and use them as a crucial tool to protect themselves, their employees and customers, so we are extremely happy the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in Dish Network’s favor. Many employers who use these policies do it because of the safety sensitivity of the job.”
According to the court’s decision, “Between 2007 and 2010, Coats worked for respondent Dish as a telephone customer service representative. In May 2010, Coats tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”), a component of medical marijuana, during a random drug test. Coats informed Dish that he was a registered medical marijuana patient and planned to continue using medical marijuana. On June 7, 2010, Dish fired Coats for violating the company’s drug policy. Coats then filed a wrongful termination claim against Dish under Colorado’s Lawful Activities Statute, which generally prohibits employers from discharging an employee based on his engagement in ‘lawful activities’ off the premises of the employer during nonworking hours. Coats contended that Dish violated the statute by terminating him based on his outside-of-work medical marijuana use, which he argued was ‘lawful’ under the Medical Marijuana Amendment and its implementing legislation. Dish filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that Coats’s medical marijuana use was not ‘lawful’ for purposes of the statute under either federal or state law.”
The National Federation of Independent Business, America’s largest small-business association with 7,000 Colorado members, hosts meetings for its members throughout the state to give them a direct report from lawmakers as to what transpired affecting the operation of their enterprises.
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For more than 70 years, the National Federation of Independent Business has been the Voice of Small Business, taking the message from Main Street to the halls of Congress and all 50 state legislatures. NFIB annually surveys its members on state and federal issues vital to their survival as America’s economic engine and biggest creator of jobs. NFIB’s educational mission is to remind policymakers that small businesses are not smaller versions of bigger businesses; they have very different challenges and priorities.
National Federation of Independent Business/Colorado
1580 Logan St. Suite 520
Denver, CO 80203
303-831-6099
Twitter: @NFIB_CO
