Class Action Claims Butterball’s Alleged Refusal to Hire Medical Marijuana Patients Violates Ark. Constitution

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A proposed class action claims turkey meat purveyor Butterball, LLC has violated an amendment to the Arkansas Constitution by refusing to hire medical marijuana users for non-safety-sensitive positions.

According to the lawsuit, Amendment 98 to the Arkansas Constitution makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a job applicant “based upon the applicant’s status as a qualifying [medical marijuana] patient.”

The case alleges, however, that “that is exactly what the Defendant did” to the plaintiff when the man applied for a job at the poultry products manufacturer’s Ozark facility that was not listed in writing as a safety-sensitive position. Per the suit, the defendant unlawfully discriminated against the plaintiff by revoking his job offer and escorting him off the premises after he tested positive for marijuana at an off-site facility.

“At all relevant times, Plaintiff could perform the essential functions of the position to which he was hired,” the complaint alleges. “However, Plaintiff was denied starting in his position within the relevant time period solely because of his status as a qualifying medical marijuana patient.”

According to the case, although Amendment 98 allows for a drug-free workplace policy and drug testing, an employer may take action against a medical marijuana patient only in the event that they are found to be under the influence of marijuana on premises, and medical marijuana users can be excluded only from positions that are designated as safety-sensitive.

“Amendment 98 to the Arkansas Constitution makes clear that merely because Defendant has a drug-testing policy and drug-free workplace does not mean Defendant can decline to hire a medical marijuana patient for a non-safety-sensitive position because of a positive marijuana test away from work,” the lawsuit stresses.

The plaintiff alleges, however, that Butterball did just that. Per the case, the plaintiff applied in August 2021 for a production associate position at the defendant’s Ozark facility and received a job offer contingent upon passing a drug test and a physical. When the plaintiff reported for his drug test at a Butterball facility in Franklin County, he disclosed his status as a medical marijuana card holder and provided a copy of his card, the suit relays.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff tested positive for marijuana and negative for all other drugs. Subsequently, the man’s job offer was revoked and he was escorted off the defendant’s premises after being informed that he was no longer eligible for hire because of his test results, the suit says.

The lawsuit alleges Butterball’s refusal to hire the plaintiff for a position not designated as safety-sensitive was based solely on his status as a qualifying medical marijuana patient and therefore discriminatory. Importantly, the case says the plaintiff did not “possess, smoke, ingest, or otherwise engage in the use of marijuana” while on Butterball’s premises and was not under the influence of marijuana at his job location during the hours of employment.

Per the suit, the plaintiff was unlawfully denied equal employment opportunities and has suffered adverse effects of the defendant’s allegedly discriminatory behavior, including lost income; lost fringe benefits; an inability to find other work due to being hired and then fired; an inability to pay bills, which has “caused chaos in nearly every aspect of his life”; and “substantial” attorneys’ fees.

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