Pot users welcome: Amazon won’t test job seekers for cannabis

Amazon said Tuesday that it will stop testing job seekers for marijuana.

The company, the second-largest private employer in the U.S. behind Walmart, is making the change as more states legalize cannabis or introduce laws banning employers from testing for it.

In March, a New York man sued Amazon, saying the company rescinded his job offer at a warehouse because he tested positive for marijuana, even though the city banned employers from testing job applicants for cannabis in 2020.

Amazon said in a blog post that it will still test workers for other drugs and conduct “impairment checks” on the job. And the company said some roles may still require a cannabis test in line with Department of Transportation regulations.

Seattle-based Amazon also said Tuesday that it would support the federal legalization of marijuana by pushing lawmakers to pass the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2021.