New Jersey residents eagerly awaiting the chance to use marijuana without fear of arrest will have one more hurdle to pass before they are home free: their employer.

The New Jersey bill legalizing recreational marijuana includes an amendment that allows employers to prohibit employees from using drugs, even if it means testing for marijuana.

"Even though this is quote, unquote going to be legal, you don’t have to allow people to have it in the workplace," said Michelle Lee Flores, an employment lawyer in Los Angeles who specializes in cannabis law with the firm Akerman.

New Jersey lawmakers are inching toward a vote that, if approved, would make the state the 11th nationwide to allow adults to possess and use small amounts of marijuana.

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The bill heading to the floor alleviates concerns of employer groups who wondered what would become of their drug testing policies.

Marijuana poses a dilemma. Workers can consume marijuana on a Saturday night and not be impaired on Monday. But THC, the chemical responsible for the drug's psychological effects, can stay in their system — and show up on in a drug test — for as long as a month.

"It shouldn’t be the employer's burden to figure out if you’re high Monday morning," said Michele Siekerka, president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, a trade group. "You can’t put that on the employer. So an employer objectively has to rely on that test and the employee should assume the risk of what they do … outside the workplace."

Drug tests have been part of the workplace since the 1980s with the Reagan-era battle cry, "Just say 'no!'" They gained ground in 1991, when Congress required all transportation companies to test their safety-sensitive employees for drugs.

Twenty years later, 57 percent of employers said they screened job candidates for drugs, a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management found, although far fewer conducted post-employment drug tests.

While public polls have shown increasing support for legal recreational marijuana, business owners have been less enthusiastic. A survey of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association's members that was released last week found 56 percent were concerned about workplace safety and 48 percent were concerned about the impact on productivity.

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Lawmakers attempted to address their concerns by amending the original bill to make it clear that employers can continue to enforce zero-tolerance drug policies.

It means employers could punish a worker who tests positive for marijuana, even if the worker isn't impaired.

Flores' advice? Employers should seek training on how to detect a worker who is under the influence of marijuana. And workers should not only consult their employers' handbooks, but also research the drug policies of places where they might want to work one day. A positive marijuana test could spoil a dream job.

She has seen the process play out in California, where voters approved a measure in 2016 to legalize recreational marijuana. It went into effect last January.

"I think other states can learn from California," she said. "That period of time (from when the law is passed to when it goes into effect) is a good time for people to start thinking about and communicating, what will their policies be?”

Michael L. Diamond; @mdiamondapp; 732-643-4038; mdiamond@gannettnj.com