As marijuana legalization spreads from municipality to municipality and state to state, employers watching this wave of legislation to end marijuana prohibition have good reason to wonder about the future of their employment policies. And in questionable workplace situations that involve medical marijuana, employers might be confused about what they are and are not required to accommodate under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The annual Disability Management Employer Coalition's Annual Conference in Las Vegas included a panel discussion Aug. 12, "Cautionary Tales: The Impact of Legalized Marijuana on the Workplace." DMEC executive director Terri Rhodes noted that any employer with a federal contract will want to pay special attention to this issue.

"What's really driving this issue is the federal contract component," Rhodes said. "Employers that have federal contracts must comply with federal law, and the federal government is still saying that the use of marijuana is illegal.