Florida SB 136: Florida Kratom Consumer Protection Act

Bill Text

136 
Protections for Public Employees who use Medical Marijuana as Qualified Patients 
2025-10-08T04:26:59Z 
Prohibiting a public employer from taking adverse personnel action against an employee or a job applicant for his or her use of medical marijuana if the employee or job applicant is a qualified patient; providing exceptions; requiring a public employer to provide, within a specified timeframe, written notice of an employee’s or a job applicant’s right to explain or contest a positive marijuana test result, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
GB 
General Bill 
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 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 136 

 By Senator Polsky 

 30-00103-26 2026136__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to protections for public employees 
 3 who use medical marijuana as qualified patients; 
 4 creating s. 112.0556, F.S.; defining terms; 
 5 prohibiting a public employer from taking adverse 
 6 personnel action against an employee or a job 
 7 applicant for his or her use of medical marijuana if 
 8 the employee or job applicant is a qualified patient; 
 9 providing exceptions; requiring a public employer to 
 10 provide, within a specified timeframe, written notice 
 11 of an employee’s or a job applicant’s right to explain 
 12 or contest a positive marijuana test result; providing 
 13 procedures that apply when an employee or a job 
 14 applicant tests positive for marijuana; providing a 
 15 cause of action and damages; providing construction; 
 16 providing an effective date. 
 17 
 18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 19 
 20 Section 1. Section 112.0556, Florida Statutes, is created 
 21 to read: 
 22 112.0556 Medical Marijuana Public Employee Protection Act.— 
 23 (1) As used in this section, the term: 
 24 (a) “Adverse personnel action” means the refusal to hire or 
 25 employ a qualified patient; the discharge, suspension, transfer, 
 26 or demotion of a qualified patient; the mandatory retirement of 
 27 a qualified patient; or the discrimination against a qualified 
 28 patient with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or 
 29 privileges of employment. 
 30 (b) “Job applicant” means a person who has applied for a 
 31 position with a public employer and has been offered employment 
 32 conditioned upon his or her passing a drug test. 
 33 (c) “Law enforcement agency” has the same meaning as in s. 
 34 908.102. 
 35 (d) “Physician certification” has the same meaning as in s. 
 36 381.986. 
 37 (e) “Public employee” or “employee” means an employee of a 
 38 public employer. 
 39 (f) “Public employer” or “employer” means a state, 
 40 regional, county, local, or municipal governmental entity, 
 41 whether executive, judicial, or legislative; an official, an 
 42 officer, a department, a division, a bureau, a commission, an 
 43 authority, or a political subdivision of such entity; or a 
 44 public school, a Florida College System institution, or a state 
 45 university, any of which employs individuals for salary, wages, 
 46 or other remuneration. 
 47 (g) “Qualified patient” has the same meaning as in s. 
 48 381.986. 
 49 (h) “Undue hardship” means an action requiring significant 
 50 difficulty or expense, when considered in light of all of the 
 51 following factors: 
 52 1. The nature, cost, and duration of the accommodation. 
 53 2. The overall financial resources of the public employer. 
 54 3. The overall size of the business of the public employer 
 55 with respect to the number of employees and the number, type, 
 56 and location of the public employer’s facilities. 
 57 4. The effect on expenses and resources or any other 
 58 impacts of such accommodation upon the operation of the public 
 59 employer. 
 60 (2)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), a public 
 61 employer may not take adverse personnel action against an 
 62 employee or a job applicant for his or her use of medical 
 63 marijuana if the employee or job applicant is a qualified 
 64 patient under s. 381.986. 
 65 (b) A public employer may take appropriate adverse 
 66 personnel action against an employee if the public employer 
 67 establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the lawful 
 68 use of medical marijuana is impairing the employee’s ability to 
 69 perform his or her job duties or responsibilities. 
 70 (c) For purposes of this subsection, a public employer may 
 71 consider an employee’s ability to perform his or her job duties 
 72 or responsibilities to be impaired if the employee displays 
 73 specific, articulable symptoms while working which adversely 
 74 affect the performance of his or her duties or responsibilities. 
 75 (3)(a) If a public employer has a drug testing policy and 
 76 an employee or a job applicant tests positive for marijuana or 
 77 its metabolites, the employer must provide to the employee or 
 78 job applicant written notice, within 5 business days after 
 79 receipt of the positive test result, of his or her right to 
 80 provide an explanation for