News and Updates
Month: February 2026
Rehashing the Complexities of Marijuana in the Workplace
Toward the end of 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to expedite the rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. This is monumental in that it acknowledges that marijuana does, in fact, have valid clinical/medical uses and has low-to-moderate potential for abuse. Only four states in the U.S. still regard cannabis as being fully illegal, while another six allow only the cannabinoid CBD, which is known not to produce psychoactive effects. All other states have some version of legal or decriminalized marijuana, be it medical, recreational, or a combination of both. The first thing that’s important to note and is widely misunderstood is that this rescheduling does not legalize marijuana federally. As of January 28, 2026, Marijuana is still a Schedule I drug, since the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has not yet finalized this rule. Once they do cement this change, there could be some wide-sweeping changes to drug testing. The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) currently only allows testing for Scheduled I and II substances for federal and regulated drug-testing programs followed by DOT-regulated employees and other safety-sensitive positions. Truck drivers, pilots, transit operators, railroad employees, and pipeline workers are all currently subject to mandatory drug and alcohol testing, including marijuana. There has been talk of a
Unemployment Services with Spooner
If you haven’t considered trusting Spooner’s family of companies with managing your unemployment claims, maybe you’re not sure what it entails and how much time and hassle it could save. You may have also tried outsourcing this to another vendor in the past and found that their approach really didn’t save you much of anything. The team at Spooner Risk Control (which encompasses both Spooner Inc and SuretyHR) boasts over 15 years of experience managing unemployment claims, including an attorney that will represent your company at hearing. Many clients that are new to using our unemployment services have shared that past vendors still required them to log into their portal, submit all the responses and paperwork, then the vendor would send to the state. Our approach is to simply ask for the documentation, submit, and take care of everything. As an unemployment services client, you’d be asked to sign a third-party representation form that will allow any unemployment-related forms and letters to come directly to us so you’re not always the go-between. Here’s a run-down of the services you can expect as an Unemployment Services client: Monitor and report all new unemployment claims and notifications Submission of claims and responses after requesting information from the employer and submission of any rebuttals File and submit appeals on any base period unemployment notifications or allowed claims File appeals to the
New E-Verify Requirement for Non-Residential Construction (HB 246)
If you weren’t paying close attention, you may have missed the passage of Ohio’s House Bill 246, or the E-Verify Workforce Integrity Act. This will require all Ohio nonresidential contractors, subcontractors, and labor brokers to confirm employees’ work eligibility through the federal E-Verify program. Nonresidential construction is defined in HB 246 as: “…The construction or renovation of any building, highway, bridge, utility, or related infrastructure, but does not include any of the following: (1) An industrialized unit, manufactured home, or a residential building as defined in section 3781.06 of the Revised Code; (2) A building or structure that is incidental to the use of the land on which the building or structure is located for agricultural purposes as defined in section 3781.06 of the Revised Code; (3) A mobile home as defined in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code.” Included employers are expected to be fully compliant with the E-Verify requirement by March 19, 2026. There are currently no exceptions being made for small businesses or sole proprietors, and E-Verify is a free service. Employers will enroll at www.e-verify.gov and create a new case for each new hire by entering info provided on their I-9 and should receive initial results in seconds. Once a final eligibility result is obtained, employers may close that employee’s case. The Act requires employers to maintain this verification record for three
2026 Spooner Safety Seminar Dates Announced
ATTENTION Group and Group Retro Clients: Spooner Safety Seminars are back on the road! Our team is eager to get back on the road to provide Ohio employers education that can help keep their workplaces safe. The registration process looks a bit different this year and will take you to an external site, but our processing partner SlimCD is the safest and most convenient way for us to collect your payment. See below to find out when our team will be in your area and get signed up before the April 16 registration deadline. Dayton/Cincinnati Area: April 21, 10a -12p Hilton Garden Inn, 12000 Innovation Dr, Miamisburg, OH 45342 Columbus Area: April 22, 10a-12p Embassy Suites, 5100 Upper Metro Place, Dublin, OH 43017 Youngstown Area: April 23, 10a – 12p A La Cart Catering, 429 Lisbon Street, Canfield, OH 44406 Cleveland Area: April 24, 10a – 12p Holiday Inn, 6001 Rockside Road, Independence, OH 44131 To register online, click here. NOTE: Registration deadline is Thursday April 16, 2026. All employers are welcome to attend these informative workplace safety seminars. One training session will satisfy the 2-hour safety training requirement for companies participating in Group Rating or Group Retro with a claim in the green period* for the 2025-2026 policy year. The cost to attend is $95.00 per person, to be paid during registration process. *The green period for this year's training deadline is 7/1/23 through
