On September 27, a congressional committee will vote on a bill concerning covered applicants’ past or present use of marijuana. It would prevent employers from considering marijuana use in the hiring decision. It also stops employers from denying security clearance to cannabis users under the existing code. 

This bill is the Cannabis Users’ Restoration of Eligibility (CURE). If passed, it could significantly increase job opportunities if you use or have used marijuana. It would also grant relief to people who previously lost job opportunities because they used marijuana. Furthermore, it would require every federal agency to create a process that reviews cases from January 1, 2008. However, these cases must involve marijuana preventing a person from acquiring security clearance or work. 

How It Works

The CURE bill would also have a website for you to request a review of prior denials. These requests must involve decisions that denied a security clearance or job due to marijuana use. After filing an eligible case, the agency that denied you for marijuana use must reconsider the decision.

You will have 30 days to appeal a decision if the agency reconsiders your case and still denies you the job or security clearance. You may file the appeal with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). The MSPB must have the decision reviewed within 120 days. Should the MSPB determine the denial still accounted for marijuana use, it will instruct the involved federal agency to reassess your request.

Previous Attempts

There have been other attempts to pass legislation similar to the CURE bill. Though unsuccessful, some federal agencies have already changed their policies concerning marijuana. These agencies include the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). 

As such, you could find increased opportunities at these agencies. If the CURE Act does not pass, the Drug Enforcement Administration is considering rescheduling marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act. Rescheduling marijuana could cause more federal agencies to change their employment policies.

If the CURE Act passes, it would increase job opportunities for many people. However, several federal agencies have already changed their policies concerning marijuana, and more agencies could decide to do so. As such, using marijuana should not prevent you from applying for work with federal agencies or obtaining security clearances.

Regardless, you should consider conducting a self-background check before applying. A self-check would allow you to correct any errors in your report. It also allows you to determine how best to explain any possible negative information.

Discover more about JDP’s reliable and secure self-background checks. Speak to a Sales Rep today.

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A congressional committee will soon vote on a bill concerning marijuana use and federal employment. The bill would protect applicants from automatic disqualification due to current or past marijuana use. This protection would allow them to prove their federal employment or security clearance eligibility under existing codes.

This bill is the Cannabis Users’ Restoration of Eligibility (CURE) Act. Its purpose is to provide relief to individuals who previously lost job opportunities due to marijuana use. However, every federal agency must create a process for reviewing cases to accomplish this feat. This process would require the system to find instances where cannabis caused a rejection for federal jobs or security clearances as far back as January 1, 2008.

How CURE Works

One way to accomplish this is by creating a website where individuals can request reviews for previous decisions. However, the cases must involve a denied federal job or security clearance concerning marijuana use. When someone submits a request, the agency must reconsider the decision, dismissing the marijuana use and focusing on the application’s merits.

Agencies may still choose to deny the individual employment or security clearance. The individual will have 30 days to appeal the decision if this happens. Those wishing to appeal must file the request with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). The MSPB will have 120 days to review the appeal and agency’s decision.

During this review, the MSPB will also determine whether the agency still considered the applicant’s marijuana use. If the MSPB finds this is the case, it will order the agency to redetermine it appropriately. Otherwise, they will dismiss the request.

The Effects

The CURE Act is an expansion of a cannabis legalization amendment from last year. However, it received swift defeat on the House floor. It would have covered security clearances if it had passed, though not federal employment. Another amendment followed to ban employment discrimination.

This amendment would have prevented all federal departments from discriminating against applicants for past or present marijuana use. However, it received considerable changes before the committee could adopt it. Furthermore, two senators objected to its inclusion in the National Defense Authorization Act. They cited disapproval of including marijuana language in the Act.

Despite these rejections, some federal agencies have already changed employment policies concerning marijuana use. These agencies include the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. These agencies show the possibility of others changing their employment processes regardless of CURE passing. However, others following suit may wait to see if the Drug Enforcement Administration decides to reschedule marijuana.

If CURE does pass, many marijuana users will see increased job opportunities with federal agencies. Private employers can also provide marijuana users with increased opportunities by changing how they regard cannabis. For example, they could consider whether the substance is relevant to the available position. One way to do this is by working with a trustworthy background check provider. The right partner can use their experience to deliver accurate reports, providing employers with the tools to make educated hiring decisions.

Keep your business compliant with new laws and regulations with JDP’s reliable background checks. Contact a sales rep today.

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A recently proposed legislation may improve the labor pool for federal employers. The bipartisan law is the Cannabis Users Restoration of Eligibility (CURE) Act, introduced by Reps. Jamie Raskin, Nancy Mace, and Earl Blumenauer.

The CURE Act would restore access to security clearances and federal employment for current and former marijuana users. Furthermore, individuals denied clearance or work due to marijuana may request a new review of their denial. According to the proposal, this review process would encompass anyone dismissed since 2008.

How It Started

In 2022, the Biden administration reviewed the correlation between past marijuana and work. As a result, the Office of Personnel Management declared that previous use should not prevent individuals from federal work or government jobs. The Biden administration followed this clarification with a blanket pardon. Through this decision, the President pardoned those with simple possession of marijuana under federal law. 

He also revealed that the administration would reevaluate how the Controlled Substances Act scheduled marijuana. These intentions reflect the current federal government’s sympathy with those criminalized for marijuana usage. It also aligns with the 38 states and the District of Columbia (DC) that have legalized medical marijuana, of which 23 and DC have decriminalized recreational marijuana and begun regulating it.

It has long been the US government’s policy to deny employment opportunities and security clearance to candidates with a history of marijuana use. However, Reps. Raskin and Mace found this an obsolete practice and sought to rectify the issue. Thus, they pushed for the CURE Act with Rep. Bluemenauer’s help.

The Argument

These representatives argued that many employers have chosen to improve their labor pool by choosing not to drug test for marijuana. According to them, even states that prohibit the substance have employers disregarding the drug test for positions that are not safety-sensitive. As such, this Act would establish that previous or ongoing marijuana use is not grounds for rejecting candidates. The CURE Act also allows previously denied candidates to have their denials reviewed again.

Reps. Raskin and Mace argued that the outdated marijuana policies force the federal government to dismiss talented and enthusiastic candidates. They further claimed that marijuana use is a poor predictor of qualifications or trustworthiness. Many Americans use marijuana for medical or recreational purposes; eliminating them from the pool of candidates significantly limits federal hiring. As a result, they maintained that federal guidelines fall out of line with state laws and popular opinion. 

The CURE Act has received significant support and popularity among several organizations. Examples include prominent advocacy groups, such as the Drug Policy Alliance, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, the Due Process Institute, the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, and the US Cannabis Council. This support speaks to the Act’s popularity among those informed on marijuana and criminal record-related issues. 

Should the CURE Act pass, it would allow candidates formerly unable to obtain federal employment to try again. It also encourages marijuana users who felt automatically disqualified to apply for federal positions. This Act would allow government agencies to expand their talent pool, improving the odds of fulfilling crucial roles.

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