The
DOOBIE Act would codify federal hiring policy for former marijuana users
Shortly after Biden’s inauguration in 2021, the Office of Personnel Management issued new guidance stating that a federal job applicant’s past marijuana use can no longer be the sole factor behind the decision not to hire them. Similarly, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence updated its rules to clarify that past marijuana consumption cannot be the only reason behind the denial of a security clearance for federal workers and contractors.
The Dismantling Outdated Obstacles and Barriers to Individual Employment—or DOOBIE—Act (S. 4711), introduced by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, would codify that guidance in federal law. Currently, the policy could be rolled back by a future administration with a similar issuance of new guidance.
