{"data":{"id":"us-dc/d.c.-code-1-620.62","jurisdiction":"us-dc","citation":"D.C. Code § 1-620.62","heading":"Protections for qualifying patients.","body":"(a)\n(1)\nNotwithstanding any other provision of law and except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, an agency may not refuse to hire, terminate from employment, penalize, fail to promote, or otherwise take adverse employment action against an individual based upon the individual's status as a qualifying patient unless the individual used, possessed, or was impaired by marijuana at the individual's place of employment or during the individual's hours of employment.\n(2)\nA qualifying patient's failure to pass an agency-administered drug test for marijuana components or metabolites may not be used as a basis for employment-related decisions unless reasonable suspicion exists that the qualifying patient was impaired by or used marijuana at the qualifying patient's place of employment or during the qualifying patient's hours of employment.\n\n(b)\nSubsection (a) of this section shall not apply:\n(1)\nTo positions that are designated as safety-sensitive; or\n(2)\nIf compliance would cause the agency to commit a violation of a federal law, regulation, contract, or funding agreement.\n\n(c)\n(1)\nUpon the request of an employee who is a qualifying patient, an agency must provide a reasonable accommodation for the employee's use of medical marijuana, including by engaging in an interactive process to determine the appropriate reasonable accommodation.\n(2)\nA reasonable accommodation may include reassigning or transferring an employee to an open position for which the employee is otherwise qualified, or modifying or adjusting the employee's job duties or working environment, or modifying or adjusting the agency's operating procedures to enable the employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. An accommodation is not reasonable if it would:\n(A)\nPlace the employee in a position that is designated as safety-sensitive;\n(B)\nImpose an undue hardship on the employing agency; or\n(C)\nCause the agency to commit a violation of a federal law, regulation, contract, or funding agreement.\n(3)\n(A)\nAn employee's election to pursue relief under this section shall not prejudice the employee's right to pursue relief under other District or federal law.\n(B)\nA reasonable accommodation or interactive process provided under this subsection may be combined with a reasonable accommodation or interactive process provided pursuant to other District or federal law.\n\n(d)\nNothing in subsection (c) of this section may be interpreted as requiring an agency employer to permit an employee who is a qualifying patient to:\n(1)\nUse or administer marijuana at the employee's place of employment or during the employee's hours of employment; or\n(2)\nBe impaired by marijuana at the employee's place of employment or during the employee's hours of employment.\n\n(d-1)\nNot Funded.\n\n(e)\nNotwithstanding § 1-604.04(a), the Council may issue rules pertaining to Council employees to implement the provisions of this section.","path":["Title 1. Government Organization.","Chapter 6. Merit Personnel System.","Subchapter XX-E. Medical Marijuana Program Patient Employment Protections."],"source_url":"https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/1-620.62","current_through":"2026-08-20 (D.C. Law 26-175)","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-29T05:44:07Z","sha256":"45e978e7156d220b100d314daf609ab96f01fbaaf5938bdd20c0083d897a8b13","source_id":"us-dc","stale":false,"prev":"us-dc/d.c.-code-1-620.61","next":"us-dc/d.c.-code-1-621.01"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}