SPRINGFIELD -- Marijuana might be legal for adults to possess, grow, consume and, starting only last week, to buy at retail shops in Massachusetts.
But marijuana and its derivatives are still forbidden to employees at Teddy Bear Pools in Chicopee. President and CEO Ted Hebert said Monday that he'll continue random drug testing for his 90-or-so workers, and he'll keep dismissing those who test positive for marijuana.
"We will continue doing drug testing. It's my liability," he said. "As an employer I have a responsibility and a liability."
State law on marijuana has changed, but the law still allows employers to test employees for drug use. Workplaces are required to make reasonable accommodations for medical marijuana.
Hebert's regime of pre-employment and at-work random drug testing also means he can get cheaper rates on insurance, he said. That's no small consideration for a business where workers drive trucks and operate heavy equipment.
But saving money isn't his only consideration, Hebert said. He's also thinking of customers who have Hebert's employees come to their homes -- often when no one is there -- to work on pools and spas.
Hebert, 68, said he's also concerned for the well-being of the people who work for him.
"I've got great employees and I care about them," he said. "I'm old. I've seen it. I know what drugs can do to somebody."
If a Teddy Bear Pools employee tests positive, Hebert said he dismisses them, but allows them to come back for a new test after 30 days. If they pass, he may rehire them.
He's not alone. Saverio Mancini, director of communications at MGM Springfield, said the resort casino is still a drug-free workplace and will continue its pre-employment drug screening program.
At MGM, drug tests must be completed within three business days of accepting an employment offer. Candidates that do not pass can reapply after 90 days, Mancini said.
But employment lawyer Marylou Fabbo, a partner at Springfield-based Skoler, Abbott & Presser, said some of her clients have either stopped drug testing outright or stopped testing for marijuana. They fear testing for marijuana would eliminate too many prospective employees from their hiring pool.
"I think that's what the majority of companies are doing, to be honest," she said.
Employers are allowed, under the law, to test both before and during employment, Fabbo said. It's a message she's been repeating in seminars at meetings and with clients since the marijuana referendum passed in Massachusetts in 2016.
"A lot of employers want to know if this changes anything in marijuana policy at the workplace. Really it does not," she said. "Employers are still free to make employment decisions based on recreational marijuana."
That includes choosing not to employ anyone who uses it, even if the use is outside work hours.
"You are not protected if you are using recreational marijuana," she said. "Employers don't even have to employ people if they test positive."
The presence of metabolized THC in urine can persist for up to three days following a single use, according to the Mayo Clinic. But the chemical can persist for up to five days for those who use marijuana four times a week, 10 days for daily users and as long as 30 days for those who use more than once a day.
Fabbo says the law does protect those who use medical marijuana. Employers may be required to make reasonable accommodations for those whose doctors have recommended marijuana for them and who have a certification through the state.
Those accommodations become difficult, she said, in jobs where people have to drive.
At Springfield's Peter Pan Bus Lines, random tests are administered to bus drivers, other employees with commercial driver's licenses, and workers with safety-related jobs.
All employees go through pre-employment drug screening whether they drive or not.
Drivers are also tested following accidents in some circumstances.
Chris Crean, the company's vice president of safety and security, said federal rules on drug testing and commercial vehicles are strict. And they haven't changed under the state's marijuana legislation.
"But that doesn't mean it won't change down the road," he said.