Marijuana is legal in Illinois, but that doesn’t mean your employer can’t drug test you and fire you for testing positive for marijuana or other drugs. Since it was made legal in Illinois, the number of recreational users has of course gone up. One side effect from that is about once a month someone calls me worried they will get fired if they report a work injury.

Basically they are legitimately hurt at work, but know or think that their employer will drug test them if they report a work accident. That can happen and is usually driven by the insurance carrier for the employer. Whether or not you get fired if you fail is up to your employer.

So why shouldn’t this worry you? It should a little, but not as much as what will happen to you if you don’t report the injury or get timely medical care. If that happens, you could lose your right to ever bring an Illinois workers’ compensation case. That’s not a big deal if you have a minor strain, but when you have something that is going to be longer term, there’s a scenario worse than losing your job.

The bigger risk is that you can’t work due to the injury, but can’t pursue Illinois work comp benefits because you waited too long. When that happens, you have no money coming in, no way to pay your medical bills, are at risk of not being able to get the medical care you need and of course can’t get a settlement in the end.

In other words, you will lose out on compensation, payment of bills, and also have no job. So it’s a much worse situation. I’ve sadly seen this happen to over 100 workers in the last five years. They call me when it’s too late and they have regret that they never did anything. It sucks, but I can’t help someone when they are past the statute of limitations.

The most recent caller to my office about this issue had a repetitive trauma claim so it’s doubtful his employer would have drug tested him anyways. He didn’t tell them about going to his doctor for shoulder pain for more than three months after his first visit to his doctor where he clearly stated “I think I have a work related injury.” Now he’s got a torn up shoulder that needs surgery, no job and since he lost his health insurance, no way to get more medical care.

Bottom line is you have to think long term in these situations. There’s always a risk you could lose your job, but if it’s a serious injury, you will lose your job and so much more and it could affect you the rest of your life. At the very least you should talk to someone about it. We are always happy to provide a free and confidential consultation.