A Massachusetts woman who claims she was fired from her job for using marijuana, which was legally obtained for medical reasons related to her Crohn's disease, has sued her former employer.
Cristina Barbuto said in court papers that she told her employer, Irvine, Calif.-based Advantage Sales and Marketing, before she was hired that she had obtained written certification from her doctor to purchase marijuana under the state's 2012 voter-approved medical marijuana law. Barbuto said the drug helps her counter the effects of the disease and maintain her weight.
The lawsuit, filed the first week of September in Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston, states that she never used marijuana before work or while working, and that she typically used it two or three times a week at home in small quantities and did not feel intoxicated when she did.
According to the lawsuit, Barbuto warned the employer before she was hired that she would test positive for marijuana and was told by company officials that her use of the drug would not be a problem. But after her first day of work in 2014, promoting products in a supermarket, she tested positive for marijuana and was subsequently fired, the lawsuit claims.
When she complained about her dismissal, Barbuto said, a human resources representative told her that the company, which has offices not just in Massachusetts but nationwide, follows federal, not state, law.
Barbuto is seeking damages for lost wages, lost benefits, attorney's fees and emotional distress. She also wants to be reinstated in her job.
- Describe whether the requirements of disability eligibility under ADA and ADAAA are applicable in this circumstance, and discuss whether or not the woman has any valid claim and is entitled to any accommodation. Support your position using federal and state laws or statutes, including any legal cases on the matter.