Cannabis Employment Law: The Class Action Lawsuits are Here

MedMen, a popular California cannabis retail company, has been hit with a class action lawsuit from former employees. Class action lawsuits are no joke. These lawsuits involve a few plaintiffs suing on behalf of multiple similarly situated plaintiffs. The claims, money, and other associated costs add up very fast.

In MedMen’s case, two former employees, Chelsea Medlock and Anthony Torres, allege that MedMen failed to pay them for all hours worked, failed to pay overtime wages, failed to provide mandatory meal and rest breaks, and failed to keep accurate records of employees hours worked. Medlock and Torres worsened the blow by bringing the lawsuit as a class action on behalf of all MedMen employees (current and former) from the last four years. If the class is “certified” by the Superior Court of the State of California, where it was filed, the class of plaintiffs could include thousands of employees.

Specifically, Medlock and Torres allege MedMen required them to perform work “off-the-clock” for which they received no pay. Medlock and Torres are seeking minimum wage, liquidated damages, interest and attorney fees for the unpaid time. Although Medlock and Torres have not made specific allegations in the complaint, Starbucks was recently ordered to pay an employee $102.67 for the time the employee spent locking up the store and setting alarms, without compensation. While this amount may seem small, if Medlock and Torres get their class certified, MedMen could be paying out a similar amount or something much greater, to thousands of employees.

Medlock and Torres also allege in their lawsuit that MedMen failed to pay employees required overtime wages. In California, employers must pay overtime rates to non-exempt employees who work in excess of eight hours per day. Medlock and Torres also allege they either were not provided the required meal and rest periods, or were not paid for the meal periods they had to work during. Medlock and Torres have not identified specific dates these alleged violations occurred, but if done over a significant period of time, the back wages and penalities owed will add up quickly.

In addition to their claims relating to their wages, the plaintiffs allege they were not provided accurate wage and hour statements as required by the California Labor Code and failed to provide accurate payroll records. Failure to provide accurate wage and hour statements can result in a penalty of up to $4,000 per employee.

Finally, Medlock and Torres allege that MedMen failed to timely issue final paychecks. Failure to issue final paychecks can result in penalty wages of up to thirty days of pay at the employee regular rate of pay.

In short, Medlock and Torres’s claims are numerous and serious. If they have merit, MedMen will have to pay pack wages and may be hit with treble damages, attorney fees, and interest. Of more important, if the class is certified, MedMen will have to pay those types of damages to potentially every employee they employed in California over the last four years.

Cannabis companies are growing. With growing businesses come more employees. More employees means a higher chance of litigation. For these reasons, if you are ever unsure whether your employment practices are compliant with state and federal law, it is best to have a cannabis employment attorney evaluate and provide advice. You may be able to stave off litigation, or, if you are hit with a lawsuit, you’ll have procedures in place to adequately fight it before it gets too far.