The governor of the U.S. state of Washington has signed a bill into law that will protect workers from facing employment discrimination during the hiring process over their lawful use of marijuana.
At a signing ceremony on Tuesday, Gov. Jay Inslee gave final approval to the legislation, enacting the bill into law about three weeks after it cleared the legislature, according to Marijuana Moments.
The reform is limited to job applicants. As Inslee noted before signing the measure, employers would still be able to maintain drug-free workplaces, or prohibit the use of cannabis by workers after they are hired.
SB 5123 “seeks to protect applicants from hiring discrimination if they use legal cannabis outside of work,” the governor explained, adding that “there are exceptions” for certain industries.