Event Details

Thursday, September 6, 2018

        8:00 AM - 8:30 AM Check-In & Networking
         8:30 AM - 8:45 AM Welcome New Members & Guests
         8:45 AM - 9:00 AM Chapter Business / Legislative Update
         9:00 AM - 9:10 AM Sponsor
         9:10 AM - 10:30 AM Program

Approved for 1.25 SHRM PDC's - HRCI credits pending

Topic:   Marijuana Use and the Workplace

The intersection of M.G.L. 151B and the Massachusetts Act for the Humanitarian Use of Medical Marijuana gives rise to challenging issues for Massachusetts employers.  In the groundbreaking 2017 decision Barbuto v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court confirmed that the legal use of medical marijuana under state law is no different from the legal use of any other prescribed medication.  That is, employers must engage in an interactive dialogue with an employee who legally consumes medical marijuana and, as appropriate, must provide a reasonable accommodation.  To complicate matters further, recreational marijuana dispensaries are slated to open in Massachusetts on July 1, 2018.

As the legal and regulatory oversight of both medical and recreational marijuana use evolves – and the opioid epidemic rages on – employers must grapple with fundamental questions about substance use and abuse in the workplace.  This presentation will explore reasonable accommodations, drug testing policies, off-duty conduct and related issues.

Our Speakers:  Matthew Fogelman & Marcie Vaughan

Matthew J. Fogelman is a founding partner of Fogelman & Fogelman LLC, with offices in Newton (MA) and New York City. Mr. Fogelman’s litigation practice is focused on employment law and personal injury cases. He is an experienced trial lawyer, having won a number of significant cases on behalf of plaintiffs, including prevailing before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in a ground-breaking disability discrimination case involving an employee’s right to use medical marijuana off-site.  Mr. Fogelman also recently prevailed on an age discrimination case in Norfolk County, securing a $1.2 million verdict at trial for his client.

Marcie Vaughan is an attorney with Employment Practices Group.  She specializes in assisting employers and human resources processionals comply with state and deferral non-discrimination laws.  This work ranges from drafting handbooks, to assisting with reasonable accommodations, to conducting independent workplace investigations.  Occasionally, relying on her past work as an appellate lawyer, Marcie takes on plaintiffs’ cases that present a novel or compelling legal issue. 

 
Our Sponsor: 

UBERDOC is the patient-to-specialist web application that allows a patient direct access to a specialist. No phone calls, referrals or delays. Patients pay one single, transparent, price with their Health Savings Account or credit card to go directly to the best specialist for an accelerated appointment date.

LOCATION: Comfort Home Care, 147 Pelham Street, Methuen, MA 01844 - 2ND Floor   - IMPORTANT NOTE:  Please be sure to park in the side parking lot to the left of the building and not in the front spaces. - Thank you for your cooperation!