Home Depot Will Stop Testing Workers For Marijuana And Limit Drug Screening For Most Employees, Internal Memo Shows

Home Depot, one of the largest employers in the United States, is shifting its employee drug testing policies to remove cannabis from screening panels entirely and stop pre-employment drug testing of most of its workers, according to a new document obtained by Marijuana Moment.

The planned changes are set to take effect on September 1 and were sent out in a human resources memo this week, which says that “Marijuana will be removed from all drug panels” in the U.S.—including from tests following a workplace accident and in cases where there’s reasonable suspicion an employee was impaired.

More broadly, the memo says that pre-employment drug testing going forward “will only be conducted for external candidates with contingent offers in Asset Protection and Corporate Security.”

The policy changes do not apply to employees regulated through the federal Department of Transportation.

Home Depot initially replied to Marijuana Moment’s requests for comment on Monday by saying the company was looking into the changes, which were first described publicly in a Reddit post. Beth Marlowe in the corporate communications department said the company doesn’t typically comment on internet rumors.

Marlowe did not immediately respond to multiple follow-up calls and emails on Tuesday attempting to verify the new HR document that Marijuana Moment later obtained.

The memo says that “Home Depot continually evaluates our policies, the external environment, and benchmarks with other companies to ensure we remain competitive while complying with local, state, and federal laws.”

Word of the policy change first spread following a Reddit a post Monday in the forum r/HomeDepot. A user said they were told of the new protocol during a morning meeting that day.

The user wrote they were told “that on Sept 1st, marijuana will no longer be tested for; this will include reasonable suspicion. Also, lift equipment drug testing will go away too.”

The subreddit r/HomeDepot describes itself as a “hangout for Home Depot associates.”

When the policy takes effect, Home Depot will be one of the largest private companies ever to cease marijuana screening of its employees. The company says it employs more than 400,000 associates in more than 2,000 stores across the U.S., putting it among the top employers in the country.

Several other users commented on the Reddit post indicating that they were also Home Depot employees who have heard similar announcements at work this week.

“I heard it as well, but not in a meeting,” replied one user, adding that they’d been told by “a person in a position to know with no reason to lie to me.”

“It was announced at corporate today,” wrote another user.

“It’s been emailed to members of management,” offered another commenter. “I imagine it’ll be discussed at staff meetings today.”

As the day stretched on, yet another user confirmed that “I was told in the 3pm meeting today.”

Later on Monday, a user commented that the change was “now posted in the Viva HR community with an HR communications PDF dated from the Aug 23rd.”

The rumored changes, provided they take effect next month, wouldn’t be entirely unprecedented. In 2021, corporate behemoth Amazon announced that it would stop testing many of its workers for marijuana—and also begin lobbying the federal government for cannabis legalization.

A number of states have also passed legislation that limits or prevents drug testing of employees for marijuana. Earlier this year, for example, new worker protections took effect in both California and Washington State.

In California, employers are now prohibited from asking job applicants about past cannabis use, and most are barred from penalizing employees over lawful use of marijuana outside of the job. The Washington State law, meanwhile, protects workers from facing employment discrimination during the hiring process over their lawful use of cannabis. It does not protect current workers from discipline or firing for out-of-work use, however.

In New Jersey, the state’s policy against drug testing public employees has spiraled into lawsuits over whether police in Jersey City can be fired for testing positive for THC. The state’s attorney general has advised departments not to test officers for off-duty cannabis use following legalization, but Jersey City’s mayor has publicly defied that policy—a move officers claim is motivated by the mayor’s political ambitions.

Cannabis-related employment policies have been a major topic across the country amid the marijuana legalization movement.

As marijuana legalization began to take effect in Ohio last year, for example, Cleveland Mayor Justin M. Bibb (D) announced that the city has “modernized” its drug testing policies for applicants for city jobs, eliminating “antiquated language around pre-employment marijuana testing that has previously hindered hiring efforts.”

A Washington, D.C. law went into effect last July that bans most private workplaces from firing or otherwise punishing employees for marijuana use during non-work hours.

Michigan officials also approved changes to the state’s employment policy last year, making it so applicants for most government jobs will no longer be subject to pre-employment drug testing for marijuana.

New York also provides broader employment protections for adults who legally use cannabis during off-hours and away from work.

A number of North American sports leagues have also revised their stances on cannabis in recent years. Last year, for example, the National Basketball Association (NBA) removed marijuana from its banned substances list and allowed players to invest in cannabis companies. The league had reportedly already stopped testing players for cannabis use for years at that point.

Major League Baseball (MLB), meanwhile, took marijuana off its banned substances list in 2019 and some baseball teams—including the Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Royals—have since partnered with CBD companies. In 2022, MLB itself signed a CBD company to serve as the league’s first-ever cannabis sponsor.

While the National Football League (NFL) and its players union agreed to end the practice of suspending players over marijuana or other drugs as part of a collective bargaining agreement in 2020, it has continued to fine players over positive THC tests. For the first through third positive test, the fine is half a week’s salary; a fourth and each subsequent positive test is punishable by a fine equal to three week’s salary.

Other sports leagues and governing bodies have also adopted revised marijuana policies as the state-level cannabis legalization movement continues to spread.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), for example, recently voted to remove marijuana from its banned substances list for Division I players, a change that took effect in June.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced in December that it was formally removing marijuana from its newly modified banned substances list for athletes, also building on an earlier reform.

However, ahead of a UFC event in February, a California athletics commission said they could still face penalties under state rules for testing positive for THC over a certain limit, as the state body’s policy is based around World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) guidance.

Nevada sports regulators voted last year to send a proposed regulatory amendment to the governor that would protect athletes from being penalized over using or possessing marijuana in compliance with state law.

While advocates have welcomed these changes, there’s been criticism of WADA over its ongoing cannabis ban. Members of a panel within the agency said in an opinion piece last August that marijuana use by athletes violates the “spirit of sport,” making them unfit role models whose potential impairment could put others at risk.

Advocates strongly urged WADA to enact a reform after U.S. runner Sha’Carri Richardson was suspended from participating in Olympics events due to a positive THC test in 2021.

Following that suspension, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said that the international rules on marijuana “must change,” the White House and President Joe Biden himself signaled that it was time for new policies and congressional lawmakers amplified that message.

During this year’s Olympics in Paris, the head of USADA blasted the “unfair” ban on marijuana for athletes competing in international sport events.

Read the full Home Depot memo about the drug testing change below:

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