In 2020, U.S. legal marijuana sales increased by 67 percent, then another 40 percent in 2021, reaching $26.5 billion in sales. In 2022, it was estimated that legal marijuana sales exceeded $32 billion in sales with most Americans supporting the legalization of marijuana.

According to a November 2022 Pew Research study, nine in ten Americans support the legalization of marijuana for medical or recreational use. And states are taking notice, with 37 states legalizing medical marijuana usage while 21 states have legalized it for recreational purposes. Despite this support, the Drug Enforcement Agency (“DEA”) classifies marijuana (or cannabis) as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, along with heroin and LSD.

While the federal and state governments continually oppose each other’s marijuana usage laws, employers face continual challenges in crafting HR policies and procedures, including employee drug testing and recruiting. As more states consider legalizing recreational marijuana in 2023, such as Minnesota and Pennsylvania, the “patchwork of employment protections” will continue to grow and evolve.

Keep reading to learn more about what employers need to understand about marijuana and the workplace – in 2023 and beyond.

Recent Federal Legislation

To understand the trends in marijuana and the workplace, HR professionals and employers must understand recent federal and state legislation.

Although federal legislation has frequently appeared as a bulwark to legal marijuana use – in and out of work – several federal initiatives have gained traction in recent years.

For example, in October 2022, President Joe Biden granted clemency to low-level federal marijuana offenders while directing the U.S. Attorney General to review federal marijuana laws. Within this Presidential action, President Biden “encouraged state governors to take similar steps but, under the United States’ federalist system of government, the President has no direct power to change state law or compel the states to adopt federal policies.”

Employers should understand, however, that this Presidential pardon “does not change the status of marijuana under federal law.”

In 2021, Congress introduced the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, which facilitates research on both marijuana and cannabidiol (“CBD”). This act (and legal reform) encourages the reduction of federal and state law differences.

Additionally, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE Act, H.R. 3617) in 2021, which removes marijuana and Tetrahydrocannabinol (or “THC”) from the Controlled Substances Act altogether and requires the expungement of any past federal marijuana convictions. Although the House approved this bill in 2022, it never received a hearing in the Senate.

Although these federal law changes don’t directly address marijuana and the workplace, they demonstrate changes in attitude toward marijuana at the federal level.

Recent State Legislation

As of January 2023, 37 states have legalized medical marijuana, including Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia.

Additionally, 21 states have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

To complicate matters, the state courts are now involved too.  For example, on December 1, 2022, the Nevada Supreme Court was “tasked with interpreting whether Nevada law provides employees who use medical cannabis with workplace protections.”  In this ruling, the court concluded that because its state law requires that employers provide “reasonable accommodation” for those medical-use marijuana users (when used off-site or outside of working hours), employees may sue their employers for failing to provide any accommodation.

So, where does this leave employees?

3 Things Employers Should Know About Marijuana When Navigating the 2023 Workplace

1. How does increased marijuana legalization impact drug testing policies?

With numerous states legalizing (and decriminalizing) marijuana usage, many employers are scrapping their drug testing policies while the law continues to evolve.  But is a full scraping necessary?

Employers with safety-sensitive employees, such as airline pilots, employees handling heavy machinery, or federal contractors have no choice.  By law, they must drug-test their workers for marijuana. Other employers have the choice to implement and administer drug testing policies, as no comprehensive federal drug testing law exists.

However, here’s the rub. Many states have enacted their own drug testing restrictions, running the gamut from limiting testing to “reasonable suspicion” to permitting random testing. This creates conflicts, once again, for employers attempting to update their HR policies.

Because marijuana usage laws continue to evolve rapidly, here are some best practices for updating employer drug testing policies:

• Understand what the law in your state (or states for multi-state employers) says about drug testing.  For example, understand when and how you can administer drug tests  of any restrictions) along with what documentation is needed.
• Additionally, understand what your local laws say about drug testing, such as your city or county.
• In the policy itself, clearly state the specifics of your drug testing program, including which positions require testing, when and how testing will be conducted, what happens if an employee fails a drug test (i.e., what are the consequences?  Suspension? Termination?), and any accommodations that may be granted.
• Ensure that your employees are aware of your drug testing policy.
• Also, ensure that your HR team understands the policy and any recent changes or revisions to the policy.
• Continue to follow national, state, and local legal developments, helping you to keep your HR policies current and compliant.

2. How does marijuana usage impact companies that are hybrid, fully remote, or co-located?

Over the past three years, employers have experienced the good and bad (and everything in between) about employees shifting to remote, hybrid, or co-located work experiences.  For example, employees in states where recreational marijuana use is legal may feel like they can smoke during work hours since they’re in the privacy of their own homes.

But, an employee’s work location does not change an employer’s tolerance of marijuana usage while working.

Legally, employers can prohibit marijuana use during work hours.  However, with work and home blurring the lines for remote or hybrid employees, what can an employer do?

Here are some best practices for employers with remote or hybrid workers to keep in mind:

• Revisit your HR policies, determining whether they should be updated or any form of remote work.
• Continue to remind employees that company policies apply to them during working hours, no matter where they’re located.  This includes any drug and alcohol policies.
• Ensure that any employment agreements or remote work agreements reflect your stance on marijuana use, drug testing, and consequences for not complying with company policies.
• Understand your legal options if you suspect an employee is using marijuana on company time.

3. How do marijuana and the workplace impact recruiting and hiring overall?

The tight labor market continues as we roll into 2023, and recruiting professionals are still trying to keep that competitive edge when attracting (and retaining) talent. To meet these challenges, some employers are taking another look at their marijuana drug policies, including mandatory or pre-employment drug testing, to determine if they’re excluding potential talent from applying for jobs.

In June 2021, Amazon announced they would no longer include marijuana in their pre-employment drug screening.  In doing so, Amazon stated:

We made these changes for a few reasons. First, we recognized that an increasing number of states are moving to some level of cannabis legalization—making it difficult to implement an equitable, consistent, and national pre-employment marijuana testing program. Second, publicly available national data indicates that pre-employment marijuana testing disproportionately impacts people of color and acts as a barrier to employment. And third, Amazon’s pace of growth means that we are always looking to hire great new team members, and we’ve found that eliminating pre-employment testing for cannabis allows us to expand our applicant pool.

And, Amazon isn’t alone.  Here are some other large employers that are kicking pre-employment drug testing to the curb:

• Apple
• Facebook
• Gap
• Michael’s
• PetSmart
• Starbucks
• Trader Joe’s
• Whole Foods

If you choose to move marijuana from your pre-employment testing, that doesn’t mean you’re condoning marijuana use during work hours. Instead, think of it as expanding your talent pool while increasing your inclusivity.

As legalization and acceptance of marijuana usage continue to grow and evolve, HR professionals will need to stay in the know when it comes to the legal usage of marijuana. Understanding the law (at the federal, state, and local levels), deciding whether to exclude marijuana from any pre-employment drug tests (or excluding pre-employment drug tests altogether for unregulated positions) and refining your HR policies should continue to be topics of conversation at your organization for 2023 and beyond.

The post 2023 and Beyond: What Employers Need to Know About Marijuana and the Workplace appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Some companies make the mistake of asking recruiters to handle sourcing, which can limit their effectiveness. Hiring teams to focus on sourcing will yield a broader talent pool and more diverse candidates.

When building a remote sourcing team, remember that it’s a commitment. Teams are built to solve long-term hiring problems and take time to deliver. So, you need to do it right.

Benefits of a Remote Sourcing Team

In today’s job market, demand exceeds talent. At the same time, there is an increasing demand for specialized labor. This requires an aggressive, proactive outreach effort to find and source talent.

Sourcers excel at finding passive candidates, tapping into the 70% of workers that aren’t actively seeking new jobs. This significantly broadens the talent pool to keep recruiting pipelines full.

Hiring remote sourcing teams provides other key benefits, including:

• Reducing the cost to hire by creating economies of scale
• Accessing hard-to-reach channels
• Pre-closing top candidates before recruitment engages
• Reducing the time to hire
• Generating information about competitors

How to Develop Your Remote Sourcing Team

You will want to utilize multiple sourcers, each specialized in different areas, such as regions or industry verticals. A good ratio is one sourcer for every two to three recruiters.

Remote work requires a slightly different set of skills. When hiring sourcers, you want to look for several critical qualities. You will want to probe into these areas:

• Are they comfortable with the technology required for remote work?
• Can they work independently and collaboratively when required?
• Do they hold themselves accountable for meeting deliverables?
• Are they motivated and take the initiative rather than waiting for assignments?
• Are they strong, proactive communicators?
• Are they flexible and adaptable as situations change?

Attracting, Engaging, and Retaining Top Sourcers

Like any other job you’re hiring for, compensation will be a crucial part of attracting and retaining top sources. Salaries typically range from $35 to $70 per hour, depending on experience. Companies employ different types of comp structures, including:

• Hourly
• Hourly + bonus
• Base plus performance bonus

With remote teams, creating the right environment is crucial to retaining sourcers. This means supporting the remote work environment, focusing on results rather than activity, and respecting boundaries. Managers need to be strong communicators to keep remote teams connected and motivated.

You’ll also need to provide them with the right tools, using consistent communication and tracking. This requires a proactive approach to check in regularly and provide feedback along with clear expectations.

Building Your Remote Sourcing Team

Building a remote sourcing team takes work, but can result in long-term solutions for your recruiting and hiring needs. When you hire the right sourcers and provide the support they need, you can surface more high-quality candidates and keep your recruitment pipeline full.

Learn more about configuring your remote sourcing team in our webinar, The Ultimate Configuration of Your Remote Sourcing Team.

The post How to Start Building Your Remote Sourcing Team appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

It’s no secret that the workforce is changing quickly. The traditional office space has been replaced by a mix of remote work and on-site collaboration with more companies moving towards this remote model every day. The trend isn’t just about saving money — it’s about attracting talent in an increasingly competitive global market for top performers.

To fully attract and retain talent effectively, it’s important to examine the remote workplace trends that happen today and adjust your HR team accordingly.

Remote and Hybrid Working Environments — The New Norm

All-remote and hybrid working environments are becoming the new normal for businesses. It’s no longer a question of whether you should allow your employees to work remotely, but how to implement it successfully. For organizations still adjusting to the pandemic, sustaining an all-remote workforce continues to pose challenges that can impact the structure and performance of your company.

The ultimate goal for most businesses is to enable employees to get their work done without jeopardizing the business’s success, no matter where they are or what time zone they’re in. However, several vital challenges can arise when establishing an effective remote working environment.

This includes productivity loss due to lack of communication tools, poor management, and burnout with little flexibility. For all-remote companies to survive and thrive, it takes dedicated commitment from team members across all departments.

Heavy Reliance on Video Conferencing Technology

As the popularity of remote working arrangements continues to grow, remote technology improves as a result. Most companies now rely heavily on video conferencing technology, such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

Video conferencing allows employees to communicate in a more personal and productive way. It also allows companies to connect with talent across the country, or to potential employees who may otherwise be unavailable due to their geographic location. As part of the remote work package, companies are increasingly offering video conferencing equipment and software licenses so that workers can stay connected from wherever they choose to work.

From now on, video conferencing technology will continue to play a significant role in enabling companies and workers alike.

New Initiatives to Drive Employee Engagement and Retention

As modern workplaces adapt their strategies to building better-performing teams while reducing turnover, new initiatives are being implemented to keep remote workers engaged and happy. Below we’ll address a few of these initiatives:

Offering company-wide support for wellness programs and services

Offering a company-wide support program can be a way to show employees that you care about their wellbeing. By providing both physical and mental support, companies create an environment where remote workers feel supported in all areas of life. Another way to support wellness is offering gym memberships, fitness classes, or catering healthy food delivery options.

Offering incentives for employees who want more flexible hours

Remote working arrangements give organizations the ability to offer additional flexibility to their employees. One way to take advantage of this flexibility is by providing incentives. This could be in the form of more vacation time, a flexible office location, or a cash bonus for working from home and managing employee work expenses.

Encouraging remote workers to attend company events and meet-ups

Even if your employees work remotely, it can be beneficial to join in on company meetings or conferences. These virtual opportunities allow employees the chance to connect with their colleagues on a deeper level. To facilitate these connections, companies are now offering programs to cover travel costs so that all employees have an equal opportunity to participate in group activities together.

Offering training and professional development opportunities

Remote work makes it easier to hire people with niche skillsets who may not have been available locally. This allows companies to cultivate these unique skills further by offering additional learning resources such as online courses, seminars, tutorials, etc.

These initiatives can help employees feel like their organization cares enough to assist in their growth while also adding value to the business. When employees are supported emotionally and professionally, they tend to stay much longer because they care deeply about being part of your team’s success.

In Summary

The future of work will likely be increasingly remote. To prepare for this, companies need to invest in digital tools and technology to have a flexible workforce. They also should look for opportunities to provide professional and mental health support to all employees as they can continue to work in isolated settings. By doing this, companies can retain their talent while also positioning their company for scale.

The post A Comprehensive Rundown of the Remote Future of Work & Retention appeared first on RecruitingDaily.