Rescinding an Offer Over a THC Test Is Now a Lawsuit: Defending the Cannabis Failure-to-Hire Wave

Erik P. Pramschufer, Partner | Saul Ewing LLP

A trial lawyer and partner in Saul Ewing’s Litigation Department, Erik Pramschufer devotes his practice to labor and employment law, encompassing workplace litigation, dispute resolution, and management-side counseling under federal, state, and local employment laws. His courtroom work spans the defense of lawsuits and administrative claims involving wages, discrimination, and protected leaves of absence, together with restrictive covenant and trade secret litigation pursued across the country on both the enforcement and defense sides. Among his recent trial results is the complete defeat of a federal sexual harassment case brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in which the court found in favor of the client on all counts.

• Education & Credentials

The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law awarded him his J.D., magna cum laude, in 2016, following a B.A., cum laude, earned from Ohio Wesleyan University in 2013, with academic honors accompanying both degrees. His bar admissions span four jurisdictions: Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York, supporting a litigation practice conducted in state and federal courts, before administrative agencies, and in arbitration.

• Recognition & Leadership

In 2026, The Best Lawyers in America recognized him on its Ones to Watch list for Labor and Employment Law Management, a peer-review-based recognition listing him in New York. His elevation to the firm’s partnership, announced by Saul Ewing in January 2025, placed him among fifteen attorneys promoted to partner or counsel that year, with the announcement noting his defense of wage, discrimination, and protected-leave claims and his human resources compliance counseling as a member of the firm’s Litigation Department.

• Professional Involvement

Active in the organized bar, he holds memberships in the New York City Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the Maryland State Bar Association. Recent speaking engagements include a session at the 2025 American Staffing Association Staffing & Law Compliance Conference addressing the management of temporary employee complaints and investigations. A regular author on labor and employment developments, he is credited with more than thirty client alerts and articles published through the firm, among them a co-authored analysis of the NCAA’s 2019 decision to permit name, image, and likeness compensation for student-athletes.

• Experience

Representative results include a complete affirmance by the New Jersey Appellate Division of a trial court order dismissing a discrimination lawsuit and compelling arbitration, only the second decision in the state to find that a recent amendment to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination barring arbitration of
certain claims was preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act. Additional victories include a motion to dismiss won in federal court for a large fast-casual dining franchisee and franchisor facing customer claims of racial discrimination, and the defeat of national origin discrimination charges brought before the New York State Division of Human Rights. In the restrictive covenant arena, his matters include temporary and permanent injunctions secured for a Fortune-500 financial services firm against a departing employee accused of soliciting clients, enforcement litigation on behalf of a multinational advisory and insurance brokerage firm against departing brokers, a complete dismissal in Puerto Rico federal court of a departing executive’s challenge to his restrictive covenants, and a successful arbitration ruling for a group of physicians seeking to invalidate and reform covenants with their former employer. Beyond the courtroom, he counsels clients across industries on employment and human resources compliance, drafting policies, handbooks, and agreements for workforces ranging from tipped workers to white collar executives, and delivering anti-harassment and discrimination training to employees and managers.

Sarah Seidel, Associate | Saul Ewing LLP

Sarah Seidel represents employers in labor and employment disputes, including matters involving claims of discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wage and hour issues, and provides proactive counseling and training to management on compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws to minimize litigation risk. Her work covers the full life cycle of the employment relationship, from hiring and workplace policy development through discipline, termination, and post-employment restrictions.

• Education & Credentials

Sarah earned her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2023, where she served as Senior Staff Editor of the University of Baltimore Law Review, was a Scholar of the Royal Graham Shannonhouse III Honor Society, and held leadership roles as Academics Director of the Student Bar Association and President of the Jewish Law Student Association. She earned her B.A. from The Pennsylvania State University in 2020. She is admitted to practice in Maryland and before the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

• Recognition & Leadership

Sarah has been selected annually as a Rising Star in Civil Litigation by Maryland Super Lawyers from 2024 through 2026.

• Professional Involvement

Sarah serves as a Board Member of Sinai Hospital and as Secretary of the Board of Directors of The Mosaic Group Foundation, Inc. She is an active volunteer for community and legal service organizations, including serving as a Volunteer Attorney with the Women’s Law Center, through which she represents survivors of domestic violence pro bono in protective order proceedings. While in law school, she served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Robert N. McDonald of the Court of Appeals of Maryland.

• Experience

Sarah defends employers in state and federal courts, with litigation experience that includes drafting dispositive motions and appellate briefs, managing discovery, preparing and taking depositions, and arguing motions. She also represents employers before administrative agencies, including in mediations before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and advises management in collective bargaining, including reviewing and revising collective bargaining agreements and preparing proposals.

SESSION 1 – Rewriting Employer Drug-Testing and Offer Policies for the Off-Duty Cannabis Era | 2:30pm – 3:30pm

This session walks employment attorneys through the statutory patchwork, testing technology requirements, and policy drafting decisions employers must confront as state laws increasingly prohibit adverse hiring action based solely on cannabis metabolite results. Attendees will learn how to audit and redraft conditional offer letters, drug-testing protocols, and handbook provisions to comply with jurisdiction-specific protections while preserving lawful on-duty prohibitions and safety-sensitive carve-outs. Attorneys will leave with a practical framework for counseling multi-state employers on defensible cannabis testing policies in the wake of cases like Sanders v. Levari and Zanetich v. Wal-Mart.

BREAK | 3:30pm – 3:40pm

SESSION 2 – Defending Cannabis Testing Lawsuits: Forum Strategy, Motion Practice, and Damages Exposure | 3:40pm – 4:40pm

This session equips defense counsel with the litigation tools to defeat or narrow cannabis failure-to-hire claims from the moment a complaint lands. Attorneys will analyze the leading appellate decision in Zanetich v. Wal-Mart, the split Pennsylvania federal rulings in Davis and Tyler, federal preemption doctrine, and the full damages exposure spectrum across key jurisdictions. By the end of the session, attendees will be able to evaluate forum, sequence motions to dismiss, assess class certification vulnerability, and advise employer clients on jurisdiction-specific risk before litigation is filed.