Oregon Marijuana Company Sued in FLSA Wage Claim

11 Jan Oregon Marijuana Company Sued in FLSA Wage Claim

Pay those employees, non-exempt and otherwise.

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 could have a significant impact on a case recently filed in Federal District Court in Oregon.

Michael Garity has filed a state and FLSA wage and hour claim against his former employer, WRD Investments LLC (“WRD Investments”). According to the complaint, Mr. Garity was hired by WRD Investments to provide expertise and labor in support of WRD Investments’ marijuana grow near Junction City, Oregon.

Mr. Garity alleges he was a “non-exempt” employee for WRD Investments. His status as a non-exempt employee would have required WRD Investments to pay Mr. Garity at least minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime rates for all hours worked over 40 hours per week. In the complaint, Mr. Garity alleges that between March 2016 through May 2017 he may have worked approximately 2500 hours without any compensation. He further alleges that he frequently worked over 40 hours per week without overtime pay.

Mr. Garity’s complaints do not stop there. Mr. Garity also alleges that WRD Investments failed to provide him with itemized statement of pay and failed to establishe regular pay days in violation of Oregon laws. The Complaint also states Mr. Garity incurred expenses on behalf of WRD Investments such as using his personal vehicle to conduct WRD Investment business without reimbursement from WRD Investments.

Mr. Garity’s complaint requests actual damages for unpaid minimum wage and overtime compensation plus an equal amount as liquidated damages and reimbursement for business related expenses, penalty wages under Oregon wage and hour laws, and attorney fees and costs. Mr. Garity’s complaint does not lay out a number, but based on my calculations WRD Investments could be on the hook for around $40,000 related to the FLSA claims alone. Should this matter proceed far into litigation, WRD Investments could also be on the hook for attorney fees which could eventually surpass the $40,000 number.

The Kenney case mentioned at the beginning of this post may have significant impact on Mr. Garity’s claims. Mr. Garity’s case is filed in a Ninth Circuit district court and nothing binds a Ninth Circuit court to follow a decision from the Tenth Circuit. However, the Ninth Circuit district court could be persuaded by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decision and decide to follow its precedent. Alternatively, it could choose to ignore the precedent and decide to create its own path. Either way, it will be very interesting to see the legal arguments that are made in Mr. Garity’s case regarding whether the FLSA protects marijuana employees.

Regardless, a good lesson can be gleaned from Mr. Garity’s complaint. First, be sure you are properly classifying your employees as exempt or non-exempt. Second, and perhaps even more importantly, ensure that you are properly paying your employees. If you are ever concerned you are in violation of wage and hour laws, its always a good idea to have a cannabis employment law attorney review your payment procedures. It may cost some money up front but will likely save you much, much more in the long run.