Pennsylvania Superior Court Recognizes Private Cause of Action Under the PA Medical Marijuana Act

The Pennsylvania legislature adopted the Medical Marijuana Act in 2016. The Act among other items, prohibits employers from discharging, threatening, refusing to hire or otherwise discriminating or retaliating against an employee on the basis of their certification as a medical marijuana user. Until today, what was unclear was whether an employee can sue their employer in court for violating the act or whether the enforcement of the act’s anti-discrimination provisions was left to the Department of Health to regulate administratively. Today, that question has been answered for the first time by one of Pennsylvania’s appellate courts.

The Pennsylvania Superior Court in Scranton Quincy Clinic Company vs. Palmiter, has held that the Medical Marijuana Act does create a private right of action for aggrieved employees to sue their employers in Court for money damages. Scranton Quincy involved a medical assistant who applied for a position with her hospital’s new owners. The previous owner of the hospital permitted the employee’s medical marijuana use. The new owners required a pre-employment drug screening for her new position and then rejected her employment on the basis of her positive marijuana test. The Superior Court has now affirmed the trial court’s determination that the employee may sue for discrimination under the Medical Marijuana Act. As such, if it was not clear before it is clear now that employers cannot discriminate against holders of medical marijuana certificates in Pennsylvania.