Florida County Not Required to Accommodate Off-Duty Medical Marijuana Use

A Florida district court has reversed a lower court ruling that required the state’s Hillsborough County to accommodate an employee’s use of medical marijuana while off-duty.

As Fire Law Blog reported, the county placed firefighter-paramedic Angelo Giambrone on unpaid administrative leave following a random drug test in 2019.

“Giambrone had a valid Florida medical marijuana card, and there was no evidence that he used or possessed marijuana at work, on county property or during working hours,” wrote Fire Law Blog’s Curt Varone, noting there were no performance evaluations, complaints or other records to suggest that Giambrone had been impaired while working.

After Giambrone was placed on leave, he filed a suit alleging disability discrimination under the Florida Civil Rights act, wrongful termination and breach of contract. The suit also alleged the county had failed to update its drug-free workplace policy.

In December 2024, the Hillsborough County Circuit Court granted summary judgment in Giambrone’s favor, ruling that medical marijuana qualified as prescription or non-prescription medication under the collective bargaining agreement.

Thus, the county was obliged to treat the positive test as negative. The circuit court also found that Florida’s medical marijuana laws required the county to accommodate off-duty marijuana use when there was no evidence of use, possession or impairment and work. Giambrone was awarded back pay and compensatory damages.

The County was also directed to provide an accommodation to any employee who presented a medical marijuana card after testing positive for marijuana, so long as there is no evidence the employee used or was under the influence of medical marijuana at work, on County property or in a County vehicle.

The County appealed the circuit court decision, with the Second District Court of Appeals finding that the circuit court judgment “rests on legal error.”

The appeals court concluded that the trial court’s ruling was “inconsistent with the language of the collective bargaining agreement, the county’s drug-free workplace policy and Florida’s medical marijuana laws,” Varone wrote.

“The court explained that the collective bargaining agreement prohibited employees from using drugs ‘at any time while employed by Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, other than alcohol or prescribed medications,’” he continued.

“It defined impairment to include a confirmed positive drug test and required an employee with a first confirmed positive test to obtain a negative return-to-work test before resuming duty.”