Amazon has further loosened its policies on drug testing for job applicants and is increasing lobbying efforts for a new marijuana decriminalization effort in Congress, the company said Tuesday.
The company previously ended marijuana-screenings for most of its job applicants in June, and has now expanded that policy to reinstate eligibility for applicants who failed drug tests before the change in policy, according to a Tuesday blog post from Amazon HR chief Beth Galetti.
Amazon is also endorsing a new Senate bill, called the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, which would allow resentencing for people imprisoned for marijuana crimes and expunge records for nonviolent convictions. The company already began lobbying for another federal law in June that would decriminalize marijuana usage and expunge criminal records.
As the country's second-largest private employer, Amazon has found itself caught up in the web of often-conflicting and fast-changing marijuana rules on the state level. The company, which is trying to hire more than 100,000 additional workers this year, could see the reinstatement of employment eligibility for past failed drug screens as a way to open up a new applicant pool as it struggles with high turnover and a tight labor market.
Climate TRACE's data show emissions at the facility-level.Image: Climate TRACE