Drugs and Wall Street have been known to go hand and hand, but the industry’s substance use is different today than in years past, as BI recently explained. And as attitudes toward cannabis legalization in the US shift, pre-employment drug tests are becoming a thing of the past — even at some of the most buttoned-up institutions on Wall Street.
About 88% of Americans say some form of cannabis should be legal in the US, according to a Pew poll conducted in October 2022. We’re nearly halfway there — recreational use of cannabis is legal in 24 states and the District of Columbia. In New York, cannabis was officially legalized in 2021, and marijuana dispensaries have been popping up since the end of 2022.
In 2019, New York’s City Council passed a bill that bars employers in the city from forcing job applicants to take drug tests for marijuana use. The bill, which went into effect in 2020, does make exceptions for drug testing in “safety-sensitive” industries like law enforcement and construction. And last year, The New York State Department of Labor released guidance stating that employers can’t test employees for marijuana use unless they are visibly impaired on the job or federal law mandates testing (like for drivers of commercial motor vehicles).
Many of the world’s largest banks, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, are either headquartered in New York or have large offices there, meaning that this shift affects a significant portion of their talent pool and hiring practices. It’s natural, therefore, that some of the country’s largest and most prestigious employers have reevaluated their policies on testing job applicants and recent hires for marijuana.
Advertisement
BI reached out to seven investment banks with a significant presence in New York City, including JPMorgan and Citi. We asked about marijuana testing as well as screening for other substances as part of their hiring process and regular employee monitoring. We found that, for the most part, these employers no longer screen applicants for marijuana use. Many of them don’t test for any drugs at all.
See what we learned about drug testing for job seekers and current employees at Citi, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and more.
Recent Comments