New York cannabis employment and drug testing law

• Labor Law § 201-d bars employment discrimination over the legal use of consumable products, including cannabis used in accordance with state law, outside working hours, off the employer’s premises, and without use of the employer’s equipment or property.
• Under Cannabis Law § 42, being a certified medical patient is deemed having a “disability” under the state Human Rights Law.

• An employer may act if it is required by state or federal law or regulation, or if not acting would violate federal law or cost a federal contract or funding.
• An employer may act if the employee is impaired by cannabis while working — meaning the employee shows specific, articulable symptoms that decrease or lessen job performance or interfere with the employer’s obligation to provide a safe workplace.
• Cannabis Law § 42 does not bar enforcing a policy prohibiting performing job duties while impaired by a controlled substance.

• Section 201-d does not ban testing, but a positive test alone does not establish the “specific articulable symptoms” of impairment the statute describes.

Federal rules still apply. Under the U.S. DOT’s testing rules, a Medical Review Officer must not verify a test as negative because a physician recommended a Schedule I drug under a state “medical marijuana” law, and must not accept use of hemp or other non-prescription marijuana-related products as an explanation (49 CFR § 40.151(e)–(f)). That covers safety-sensitive transportation workers regardless of state law.

Federal workplace drug testing programs follow HHS Mandatory Guidelines, which set the cannabis testing panel and cutoffs for urine and oral fluid (Federal Register, March 13, 2026). Most state protections above include an exception where federal law, a federal contract, or federal funding requires otherwise.

For how long cannabis can show up on each test type, see our drug testing guide and the detection window explainer.