Spencer Fane attorney Elizabeth Wente served as a panelist for a Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce labor and employment-focused lunch and learn on June 21 in Springfield, Missouri.
The event, 60 Minutes to Success: How to Navigate Cannabis Legalization, provided attendees with tangible workplace takeaways regarding changing marijuana policies. Stephen Doerhoff, Lead Attorney for the Division of Cannabis Regulation for the Department of Health and Senior Services, led a policy review before Elizabeth joined Tomo Drug Testing’s John Throckmorton and moderator Shari Reaves of O’Reilly Auto Parts HR for a discussion.
The panel was summarized in the Springfield Daily Citizen article, Marijuana Legalization Brings New Challenges for Employers. In it, Elizabeth emphasized that business owners must adjust alongside the new laws.
“There is a mindset shift that this is now a legal substance, and that is a difficult shift for some,” she said. “But that’s something we have to deal with as employers.”
The overall panel discussion was also featured in a Springfield Business Journal article, Challenges Persist for Marijuana in the Workplace, Panelists Say.
At the firm, Elizabeth’s goal for her practice is to serve as a resource throughout the life of the organization, not only when the client is facing litigation. To do this, Elizabeth collaborates with employers to implement preventive policies and practices to mitigate the potential for employment litigation, put the employer in the best defensible position if litigation occurs, and improve the overall workplace.
Read the full article here.
