2月27日华盛顿邮报阅读记录(3)

Less emphasis on pot(大麻的俗称；锅) use in federal hiring, firing(excerpt 节选)

Marijuana(大麻) should not be automatic(自动的) disqualifier(不合格者), OPM memo say
Federal agencies should not automatically disqualify(取消资格，在这里当做”解雇”) job applicants(申请人) or take disciplinary(纪律的) actions against current employees for using or possessing(拥有) marijuana, the government’s central personnel agency said Friday.

A memo(备忘录，通知) from theOffice of Personnel Management (OPM人事管理办公室)lays out additional considerations for what the government calls “suitability(合适)” decisions related to marijuana for both new and continued employment.

Federal employees remain bound(跳跃，跳跃前进，be bound by：受到拘束) by a federal law defining marijuana as a controlled substance, even though growing numbers of state and local jurisdictions(管辖权，司法权) havedecriminalized(使合法化) it for medical or recreational purposes.

“As more state laws have changed, federal agencies are increasingly encountering individuals whose knowledge, skills, and abilities make them wellqualified for a position, but whose marijuana use may or may not be of concern when considering the suitability or fitness of the individual for the position,” the memo says.

长难句：As more state laws have changed, federal agencies are increasingly encountering individuals whose(whose引导的定语从句，修饰individuals，那些只是、技能、能力使得他们能够胜任他们的职位。) knowledge, skills, and abilities make them wellqualified for a position(当更多的联邦法律被改变时，联邦机构能够遇到更多能够……(从句内容)的个体)，but(but是连词，链接两个完整的句子) whose(代指那些人，即上句中提到的whose) marijuana use may or may not be of concern when considering the suitability or fitness of the individual for the position,” the memo says.me self

The guidance(指导) for federal hiring and firing puts less emphasis on marijuana use as a disqualifying factor, attorney(律师)s who specialize in federal employment issues said.

The memo says that use or possession(有用，财产) of marijuana can disqualify an applicant or merit(优秀品质，特质，善事) the firing of a current employee on grounds of illegal use of a controlled substance or of criminal conduct. “However, OPM’s suitability regulations do not permit agencies to automatically find individuals unsuitable for federal employment based on either factor,” it says.

Similarly, it says that for job applicants, those regulations “do not permit agencies to automatically find individuals unsuitable for federal service on the basis of marijuana use prior to appointment.”
“Rather, when agencies consider the suitability or fitness of an applicant or appointee(被任命者) for a position, the individual’s conduct(n举止，品行；v实施) must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine the impact, if any, to the integrity and the efficiency of the Government,” it says.

In a statement, OPM said the memo “does not represent a change to OPM’s suitability/ fitness policy. However, it does affirm that regulations do not permit agencies to automatically find individuals unsuitable for federal employment based on use or possession of marijuana.”

The guidance from the Biden administration updates a policy in place since 2015 that also told agencies to make case-by-case judgments, based on the nature and seriousness of the conduct, the circumstances(条件环境，经济状况)and “contributing societal conditions.”

The new memo adds considerations including the nature of the position the person is applying for or is employed in; when the conduct occurred; the age of the person at the time; and whether the person has made “efforts toward rehabilitation.” Such efforts can include “evidence that use will not occur again, the passage of time without use, or completion of (or current participation in) treatment or counseling(咨询).”
It adds that agencies are to take those factors into account even regarding the issue of criminal conduct, telling them to “exercise special care before making a determination of unsuitability” on those grounds.
John Mahoney, a D.C.-based lawyer who represents federal employees, said that when taking actions against employees for positive drug tests, agencies already consider a range of factors but some “are pretty hardcore in disciplining employees.”

“It is significant in that OPM is putting less emphasis on past marijuana use in terms of suitability determinations,” he said in an interview. “This does mark the beginning of a trend in the federal sector of moving toward a less strict standard vis-a-vis marijuana use, and I expect that trend to continue.”