NE Workplace Cannabis — No Patient Protections

Last verified: May 2026

At-Will Employment

Nebraska is an at-will employment state. Employees can be fired for any reason or no reason, absent contract, statute, or constitutional protection to the contrary. The narrow public-policy exceptions recognized in Nebraska (retaliation for whistleblower activity, retaliation for jury duty, retaliation for filing workers’ comp claims) do not extend to off-duty cannabis use even with valid I-437 patient status.

I-437 Contains No Employment Protection

Initiative 437 contains no anti-discrimination provision for medical-cannabis patients in:

• Employment.
• Housing.
• Child custody.
• Professional licensing.

The ballot sponsors deliberately stripped these provisions out to satisfy the 2020 Wagner v. Evnen Nebraska Supreme Court ruling that struck a prior cannabis-amendment proposal for violating the single-subject rule. The 2024 strategy of splitting into two narrow initiatives (I-437 patient protection, I-438 regulatory framework) was specifically designed to avoid single-subject vulnerability — at the cost of employment / housing protections.

The Drug-Free Workplace Reality

Mutual of Omaha

Mutual of Omaha (insurance, Omaha HQ) maintains drug-free workplace policies including marijuana on banned-substance panels.

Berkshire Hathaway and Subsidiaries

Berkshire Hathaway and subsidiaries (Burlington Northern Santa Fe, GEICO regional, etc.) operate drug-free policies. Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad operations are subject to FRA Part 219.

Union Pacific Railroad — FRA Part 219

Union Pacific Railroad (Omaha HQ) is subject to Federal Railroad Administration drug-testing rules under 49 CFR Part 219, which require:

• Pre-employment testing.
• Random testing of safety-sensitive personnel.
• Post-accident testing.
• Reasonable-suspicion testing.
• Return-to-duty testing.

Marijuana cannot be accommodated regardless of state law.

ConAgra Brands

ConAgra Brands (Omaha) maintains drug-free policies on its food-manufacturing operations.

Werner Enterprises — FMCSA Part 382

Werner Enterprises (trucking, Omaha) is subject to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Part 382 drug testing for CDL drivers. Marijuana use disqualifies regardless of state law. See CDL/FMCSA page.

Cabela’s / Bass Pro Shops

Cabela’s (Sidney; acquired by Bass Pro in 2017) operates drug-free policies. Sidney is the closest Nebraska town to Sterling, CO dispensaries, creating an interesting overlap of employer-policy and cross-border-access geography.

Tyson, Smithfield, JBS Meatpacking

Tyson Foods, Smithfield, JBS, and other meatpacking/agricultural employers maintain drug-free workplaces. The meatpacking workforce is heavily CDL-bearing for transport drivers; OSHA regulations and federal-meat-processing requirements add to the drug-testing posture.

Federal Installations

Federal employees and contractors at Offutt Air Force Base (Bellevue) face categorical drug-free workplace requirements. See Offutt page. Cannabis use disqualifies for security clearances and federal employment regardless of state law.

Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988

The federal Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 (41 U.S.C. §§ 8101-8106) requires:

• Federal contractors with contracts >$100,000 to maintain drug-free workplace policies.
• Federal grantees of any size to maintain drug-free workplace policies.
• Notification to employees of prohibition.
• Employee-disciplinary procedures for violations.

Executive Order 12564

Executive Order 12564 (Drug-Free Federal Workplace) requires federal-employee drug-testing programs for safety-sensitive and security-sensitive positions. Federal employees are subject to random, post-incident, and reasonable-suspicion testing. The April 28, 2026 Schedule III rescheduling does not modify EO 12564 requirements.

Workers’ Compensation Implications

Nebraska workers’ compensation law (Neb. Rev. Stat. ch. 48) permits insurance carriers to deny or reduce benefits for injured workers who test positive for controlled substances if the substance was a contributing factor to the injury. The cannabis-positive presumption — combined with the long detection window for THC metabolites — can produce benefit denials weeks after legal off-duty use under I-437 patient status.

Unemployment Insurance

Nebraska’s unemployment-insurance disqualification framework includes "misconduct connected with work." Employer-policy violation related to cannabis is regularly treated as misconduct supporting disqualification. Employees fired for off-duty cannabis use that produces a positive workplace test are typically disqualified from UI benefits even with valid I-437 patient status.

Practical Implications

• Public-sector employees: state, county, and municipal employees in Nebraska are subject to drug-testing programs without statutory protections.
• Healthcare workers: licensing-board character/fitness rules plus federal-grant-recipient drug-free policies create double exposure.
• Education workers: federally-funded UNL, UNK, UNO, community colleges, and K-12 districts maintain drug-free policies.
• Agriculture / food: virtually 100% drug-free-workplace coverage in major employers.
• Transportation: BNSF, UP, and DOT-regulated trucking are zero-tolerance regardless of state law.
• Federal employment: categorical exclusion.

Patient-Card Status Is Not a Defense

An I-437 valid recommendation provides a state-law affirmative defense to possession charges. It does NOT:

• Protect against employer drug testing.
• Protect against termination for off-duty cannabis use.
• Protect against denial of unemployment insurance.
• Protect against denial or reduction of workers’ comp benefits.
• Protect against denial of a security clearance.
• Protect against denial of a professional license under federal-grant overlay.

Related on this site: Send a Message, Contact CannabisNebraska.org, About CannabisNebraska.org.