Thu, 02/29/2024
A former employee of cannabis company Glass House Brands Inc. filed a proposed class action against the company, its subsidiaries, and 50 individual defendants on behalf of himself and other current and former employees of the company in the City of Carpinteria, California (Melendez v. Glass House Camarillo Cultivation LLC et al). The lawsuit also includes as a defendant LaborForce Management Inc., which provided employees to Glass House.
The lawsuit, filed on February 20, 2024 in the Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County, alleges multiple violations, including that the company failed to pay employees the minimum wage and overtime, despite regularly requiring workers to work more than eight hours per day and 40 hours per week. The lawsuit seeks damages pursuant to the California Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) for employees who worked for Glass House in the past four years, with some modifications to the statute of limitations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The suit claims that wages were often set below the state’s minimum. In addition, the complaint alleges that the company required employees to wear lab coats and other equipment, which was stored at the job site. Employees were required to put this gear on before clocking in for their shifts and remove it after clocking out at the end of their shift. The plaintiff alleges that employees were not paid for the time they spent putting on and removing (aka donning and doffing) these items, which are work-related duties.
McGillivary Steele Elkin represents employees, including cannabis company employees, in asserting their workplace rights, recovering unpaid overtime, and correcting misclassification of workers.
If you are concerned that your employer has violated your rights in any of these areas, contact us at info@mselaborlaw.com.
