Suit accuses marijuana producer Glass House of ‘systemic’ labor violations
Major California marijuana producer Glass House Brands imposed “systemic quota and production demands” on workers that violated labor law, including unpaid overtime and unrealistic workloads, a lawsuit filed by an ex-worker in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleges.
According to Law360, the suit names as defendants Glass House Brands and subsidiaries Glass House Camarillo Cultivation, Mission Health Associates and GH Camarillo as well as Houweling’s Camarillo and Labor Force Management.
The suit mentions Glass House CEO Kyle Kazan but does not name him as a defendant.
Glass House declined an MJBizDaily request for comment.
The lawsuit, filed Feb. 20, charges that Los Angeles resident Gerard Melendez and his co-workers “regularly worked in excess” of eight hours a day and 40 hours a week to meet “excessive quotas” imposed by Glass House, Law360 reported.
The suit alleges that Glass House required workers such as Melendez to trim 4 pounds of cannabis a day and either cut short or eliminated meal breaks to meet those demands, the suit claims.
The suit claims Melendez was initially employed by Labor Force Management and Houweling’s, which “had him perform work” for Glass House as a trimmer at a marijuana farm in Ventura County.
The lawsuit aims to establish Melendez as the lead plaintiff in a potential class action that could include other workers.
The action seeks back pay, damages and attorney fees.
Glass House shares trade as GLAS on the Cboe Canada exchange and as GLASF on U.S. over-the-counter markets,
