My name is Ellen Komp, I am an Oakland resident and Deputy Director of California NORML, which has advocated for the rights of cannabis consumers in California for the past 50 years.
Last year, AB 2188 by Assemblymember Quirk, a Cal NORML-sponsored bill to protect Californians’ employment rights against discrimination due urine or hair testing passed through the legislature and was signed by the Governor. That law will take effect on January 1, 2024, by which time Oakland will need to update its drug testing policies around cannabis.
In July 2021, this Council unanimously passed a resolution authored by then-Vice Mayor Kaplan and co-authored by Councilmember Fife in support of an identical employment rights bill we sponsored that year.
In November 2021, the Oakland Public Safety Committee voted unanimously to approve an ordinance creating a Prohibition Against City Employees Cannabis Metabolites Testing, again introduced by Councilmember Kaplan and co-authored by Councilmembers Bas, Kalb, and Thao.
What steps is the Council now taking to comply with the pending state law protecting city employees against job discrimination due to urine or hair testing for inactive cannabis metabolites? Our office is always available for consultation on these matters.
Sincerely,
Ellen Komp and Dale Gieringer
California NORML
ellen@canorml.org
510-540-1066
My name is Ellen Komp, I am an Oakland resident and Deputy Director of California NORML, which has advocated for the rights of cannabis consumers in California for the past 50 years.
Last year, AB 2188 by Assemblymember Quirk, a Cal NORML-sponsored bill to protect Californians’ employment rights against discrimination due urine or hair testing passed through the legislature and was signed by the Governor. That law will take effect on January 1, 2024, by which time Oakland will need to update its drug testing policies around cannabis.
In July 2021, this Council unanimously passed a resolution authored by then-Vice Mayor Kaplan and co-authored by Councilmember Fife in support of an identical employment rights bill we sponsored that year.
In November 2021, the Oakland Public Safety Committee voted unanimously to approve an ordinance creating a Prohibition Against City Employees Cannabis Metabolites Testing, again introduced by Councilmember Kaplan and co-authored by Councilmembers Bas, Kalb, and Thao.
What steps is the Council now taking to comply with the pending state law protecting city employees against job discrimination due to urine or hair testing for inactive cannabis metabolites? Our office is always available for consultation on these matters.
Sincerely,
Ellen Komp and Dale Gieringer
California NORML
ellen@canorml.org
510-540-1066