Pending Class Action Calls Looks at Rescinded Job Offers & Medical Marijiuana
/
A healthcare information worker recently filed a class action suit alleging that Stat Informatic Solutions, LLC violated employment law when they rescinded a job offer because they discovered she was a medical marijuana patient.
The Case: Epps v. Stat Informatic Solutions, LLC
The Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas Central Division
The Case No.: 4:21-cv-00750
The Plaintiff: Epps v. Stat Informatic Solutions, LLC
The lead plaintiff in the case, Latricia Epps, is a healthcare management information worker. Epps alleges that Stat Informatic Solutions illegally rescinded a job offer they made to her after they found out she was a medical marijiuana patient. According to Epps, Stat Informatic Solutions gave her a job offer in April. When she received the job offer, Epps informed the company that she was a medical marijuana patient. In response, the defendant advised Epps that she could not work for the company without first completing a drug screening that did not come up positive for marijuana. According to the lawsuit, Stat Informatic Solutions actually decided to pull Epps’ job offer before she even completed a drug screening. Epps claims the defendant denied her an employment opportunity because she used medical marijuana outside of work, and she seeks to represent herself and a Class of others in similar situations who were denied employment by Stat Informatic Solutions due to medical marijuana use. Epps is demanding a jury trial and seeks Class certification, as well as punitive and constitutional damages.
The Defendant: Epps v. Stat Informatic Solutions, LLC
Stat Informatic Solutions, the defendant in the case, is a healthcare information management company.
Details of the Case: Epps v. Stat Informatic Solutions, LLC
Did Stat Informatic Solutions break the law when they refused to employ an Arkansas woman based on her status as a medical marijiuana patient? This is the question asked by the class action lawsuit currently pending in Arkansas federal court. Employers cannot deny employment (for non-sensitive jobs) based on medical marijiuana use; doing so is a violation of the Arkansas Constitution (Amendment 98), passed after the legalization of medical marijuana in 2016. The amendment prohibits discrimination against an employee based on their status as a qualifying medical marijiuana patient. Amazon faces a similar class action lawsuit in which a former employee alleges that the behemoth online retailer terminated his employment after a drug test was positive for marijiuana, despite it being legal in the state of employment.
If you have questions about California labor law violations or employment protection for medical marijiuana patients, please get in touch with Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Experienced employment law attorneys are ready to assist you in various law firm offices located in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Chicago.
