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n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m | M a y 2 0 2 1 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 19 F O C U S : L a w services attorney who is part of Carmody's cannabis group, said if demand gets high enough, it could mean firms hire additional attorneys and support staff. Andrew C. Glassman, an attorney with Pullman & Comley based in its Hartford office, serves on that firm's cannabis industry team. e firm created it when the state allowed medical marijuana back in 2012. Six attorneys at the firm are involved in the team. Four consult with companies on medical marijuana, cannabidiol and hemp, including setting up companies, and sales, acquisitions and mergers. Two members provide clients with advice on employment issues related to medical cannabis in the workplace. According to Glassman, many law firms don't have a cannabis practice, which he attributed to hesitancy due to the conflict with federal law prohibitions. "We have had clients come to us because they have had trouble finding representation," Glassman said. Glassman said he hopes it will mean more business for his firm if recreational marijuana is legalized in Connecticut. "It would mean more businesses selling, and whenever you have more activity, you have a need for more lawyers," Glassman said. "People will be needing to get up to speed on the regulations and the law." His firm is taking a "wait-and-see" approach in terms of expansion. If demand increases, and cannabis turns into a consistently growing industry, he said they would likely add to their team. Advising employers Companies will have to modify their policies around marijuana use if recreational pot is legalized in Connecticut. Pre-employment drug testing policies are an example. Employers wouldn't be able to Legal experts: Employers should review policies in light of new CT anti-discrimination law W ith a new law on the books banning workplace discrimination against natural hair and hairstyles tradition- ally associated with race, employers should review and possibly refresh their employee handbooks, lawyers say. e CROWN Act — an acronym for "Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair" — was passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Ned Lamont earlier this year. It modifies Connecticut's existing anti-discrimination rules by expanding the definition of race to include "ethnic traits historically associated with race," including but not limited to hair texture and hairstyles. at category includes wigs, headwraps, braids, cornrows, locs, twists, Bantu knots, Afros, and Afro puffs, the act states, though its language makes clear that list is not complete or all-encompassing. Since its inception, the measure has been backed by Black and minority workers, who testified before the legislature's Labor Com- mittee describing the time, money, and ef- fort they've expended over the years trying to make their natural hair more acceptable to employers, or potential employers, who may harbor biases against certain hairstyles. By Zachary Vasile cite the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the compound in marijuana responsible for its mood-altering effects, as a reason not to hire a candidate, according to Burgio. What an employee does "off the clock" in terms of marijuana usage would be OK, as long as they aren't under the influence while working, she added. "Employers are very curious about how they would move forward, especially if they have had a drug-free workplace or if they tested for marijuana previously," Burgio said. In addition to its podcast, Barclay Damon is planning webinars and workshops to help provide guidance to employers. According to Pomerantz, workers will likely be protected for off-premises, off- duty marijuana use much as they are now for alcohol or tobacco. Vincent Farisello, a labor and employment lawyer with Carmody, said he is monitoring the proposed legislation on behalf of clients. He noted that when medical marijuana legislation passed, it required training and policy updates. "I'm sure that if this passes, it will also require reviewing and revising drug and alcohol policies, and training for human resources and frontline supervisors as well," Farisello said. n Notably, Vannessa Dorantes, the first Black commissioner of the state Depart- ment of Children and Families, submitted testimony describing her own experiences with unstated and perhaps even subconscious aesthetic expectations that put Black people at an unfair disadvantage. "Personally, I have had to devote too much time in decisions related to hairstyle choice and its effects on how I would be received," Dorantes wrote. "Negative perceptions do not change the skills I possess or the bound- less potential in developing young people. However, it becomes all too real when discrimination of this kind occurs." With the CROWN Act now in place to prevent those abuses, employers should go over dress codes, grooming policies, and re- lated workplace rules to make sure they are not overstepping their bounds, according to Keegan Drenosky, a lawyer at Hartford law firm Shipman & Goodwin. "For a lot of employers their dress code is an aerthought," Drenosky said. "But it's important to make sure that those policies aren't having a disparate impact on people of certain ethnicities." Eric Sussman, a partner in the Hartford office of law firm Day Pitney, said he would give employers similar advice. "It's important that employers review employee handbooks and company policies to ensure that they are in compliance with the CROWN Act," Sussman said. "While employers can impose general grooming policies, it's important to be mindful of how those policies are phrased and how they're implemented in practice." e law should also make businesses more cognizant of how their policies affect their employees. "e overall goal is to make things more neutral," said Allison Dearington, a lawyer at employment law firm Jackson Lewis. "It's raising aware- ness on a subject that many people may never have thought about unless it im- pacted them directly." Dearington said that, in the process of the law being vetted and passed, she learned more about how Black women in particular have treated and changed their natural hair in order to be perceived as more professional. "[e CROWN Act] means people are hopefully not having to go to those lengths," she said. "It sends a message that people shouldn't be making decisions, including hiring decisions, based on preconceived notions of what looks professional," Drenosky added. Broader interpretation Citing language about "ethnic traits historically associated with race," all three lawyers noted the CROWN Act appears to extend anti-discrimination protections beyond just hairstyles. "It's a bit broader than hairstyle," Dearington said. "They're leaving it open." "It remains to be seen what other ethnic traits also associated with race might be included as the law on this develops," Sussman said. Drenosky said the finer points of the law could eventually be fleshed out through cases heard by agencies such as the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or through developments in other states that have enacted similar, CROWN Act- style legislation. It's possible, for instance, the law could be read to include certain elements of dress, Drenosky said, but for now Connecticut employers will have to wait on guidance as it comes down from agencies that deal with workplace discrimination, or from other states. n Cannabis grower CTPharma's Rocky Hill facility could stand to gain if Connecticut legalizes recreational use of the drug. PHOTO | YEHYUN KIM, CTMIRROR.ORG Attorney Keegan Drenosky Attorney Allison Dearington

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