Oregon Marijuana Company Sued in FLSA Wage Claim
OregonUncategorized January 11, 2019
I recently wrote about a case in the Tenth Circuit, Kenney v. Helix TCS, Inc., where the Court of Appeals is asked to decide if the Federal Labor Standards act (FLSA) provides wage and hour protection to employees of cannabis businesses. That case hasn’t seen much movement since I wrote about it, but its decision…
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On December 20th, U.S. Tax Court issued its opinion in Alternative Health Care Advocates et al. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The long opinion details various issues related to the specific case, but we will concentrate on one relatively small piece of it. How would the Tax Court treat income paid from a marijuana retailer…
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Fourth Circuit: Possessing Marijuana Stems Does Not Necessarily Make You a Criminal
Uncategorized December 23, 2018
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that finding marijuana stems in a trash bag does not permit the police to search the house for evidence of a crime. From a legal standpoint this case has interesting implications on when, where, and what police can search. From a more practical perspective, it shows the…
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Cannabis Employment Law: The Class Action Lawsuits are Here
CaliforniaUncategorized December 17, 2018
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,…
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Ninth Circuit Agrees with Montana: Employees Can Be Fired for Off-Work Marijuana Use
Medical MarijuanaUncategorized December 10, 2018
Medical marijuana is legal in Montana. Unfortunately, that does not prevent local employers from terminating workers for legal, off-work use of marijuana in the state. In 2010, while already employed by Charter Communications, LLC, Lance Carlson was issued a medical marijuana card under Montana Medical Marijuana Act to treat chronic low back and stomach pain….
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We have handled a number of excessive fines cases on behalf of clients who’ve had their property seized, or threatened to be seized by the government. For some background on this, see our blog posts here and here. The United States Constitution provides that excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and…
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Industrial Hemp Litigation: U.S. Postal Service Loses CBD Delivery Case
HempUncategorized November 28, 2018
In January 2018, the United States Postal Service (USPS) seized a package in Denver, Colorado sent by KAB, LLC, a registered, Colorado industrial hemp cultivator. The package contained 1170 grams of cannabidiol (CBD) powder, derived from industrial hemp. KAB appealed USPS’s decision, arguing that the powder was not a controlled substance and therefore should not…
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Tenth Circuit to Decide if Fair Labor Standards Act Applies to Cannabis Businesses
Uncategorized November 25, 2018
As we all know, cannabis remains a federally controlled substance, and therefore illegal at the federal level. However, most states have some form of legalization. I have always advised my cannabis business clients to comply with both state and federal laws when it comes to employment laws. It seems to be the safest bet to…
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Commercial Cannabis Case Law Update: Federal Courts Continue to Find a Balance
Uncategorized October 27, 2018
Federal Court Sides with Employee in Medical Marijuana Case
Medical MarijuanaUncategorized September 18, 2018
