Current:Home > Contact-usVermont medical marijuana user fired after drug test loses appeal over unemployment benefits-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Vermont medical marijuana user fired after drug test loses appeal over unemployment benefits
View Date:2024-12-23 22:36:32
A Vermont man who was fired from his job after he said a random drug test showed he used medical marijuana while off duty for chronic pain has lost his appeal to the Vermont Supreme Court over unemployment benefits.
Ivo Skoric, representing himself, told the justices at his hearing in May that he is legally prescribed medical cannabis by a doctor and that his work performance is not affected by the medicine. On Jan. 9, 2023, he was terminated from his part-time job cleaning and fueling buses at Marble Valley Regional Transit District in Rutland for misconduct after a drug test.
His job was a “safety sensitive” position, and he was required to possess a commercial driver’s license and operate buses on occasion, the Supreme Court wrote. After the results of the drug test, he was terminated for violating U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Transit Administration regulation, the court wrote.
Skoric appealed to the state after he was found to be ineligible for unemployment benefits, but the Vermont Employment Security Board agreed with an administrative law judge, saying that Skoric engaged in conduct prohibited by the employer’s drug and alcohol policy and that because he was discharged for misconduct, he was disqualified from those benefits.
He told the Supreme Court justices in May that he should not have to choose between state benefits and the medical care the state granted him to use. The ACLU of Vermont, also representing Disability Rights Vermont and Criminal Justice Reform, also argued the benefits should not be denied.
Skoric sought a declaratory ruling on whether the misconduct disqualification applied to the off-duty use of medical cannabis, but the state declined to provide one. In its decision Friday, the Vermont Supreme Court said that the Labor Department “properly declined to issue a declaratory ruling” on the matter, noting that “his violation of written workplace policy stood as an independent source of disqualifying misconduct.”
Skoric said Friday that the Supreme Court’s decision did not address the merits of his case.
“It does not discuss whether an employee who is medical cannabis patient in Vermont has the right to use cannabis in the off-hours,” he said by email.
veryGood! (18297)
Related
- 12 college students charged with hate crimes after assault in Maryland
- Jail where Trump will be booked in Georgia has long been plagued with violence
- Zendaya Slams Hurtful Rumors About Law Roach Fashion Show Drama
- PGA Tour Championship: TV channel, live stream, tee times for FedEx Cup tournament
- Bowl projections: SEC teams joins College Football Playoff field
- Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan Set the Record Straight on Their Relationship Status
- Woman killed while getting her mail after driver drifts off Pennsylvania road
- Build Your Capsule Wardrobe With These 31 Affordable Top-Rated Amazon Must-Haves
- 24 more monkeys that escaped from a South Carolina lab are recovered unharmed
- Hugh Hefner’s Son Marston Hefner Calls Out Family “Double Standard” on Sexuality After Joining OnlyFans
Ranking
- Knicks Player Ogugua Anunoby Nearly Crashes Into Anne Hathaway and Her Son During NBA Game
- Olga Carmona scored Spain's historic winning goal at the Women's World Cup — and then found out her father had died
- Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan Set the Record Straight on Their Relationship Status
- Meet The Ultimatum Season 2 Couples Who Are Either Going to Get Married or Move On
- Watch out, Temu: Amazon Haul, Amazon's new discount store, is coming for the holidays
- New York City Mayor Eric Adams responds to migrant crisis criticism: Everything is on the table
- Compromise on long-delayed state budget could be finalized this week, top Virginia lawmakers say
- Kylie Jenner's Itty-Bitty Corset Dress Is Her Riskiest Look Yet
Recommendation
-
Quincy Jones' Cause of Death Revealed
-
Lawsuit settled over widespread abuse of former students at shuttered West Virginia boarding school
-
Heidi Klum Sets the Record Straight on Her Calorie Intake
-
US Open 2023: With Serena and Federer retired, Alcaraz-Djokovic symbolizes a transition in tennis
-
Gerry Faust, the former head football coach at Notre Dame, has died at 89
-
Indiana hospital notifies hundreds of patients they may have been exposed to tuberculosis bacteria
-
Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams arrested on substance, weapon charges
-
Feds fine ship company $2 million for dumping oil and garbage into ocean off U.S. coast