While more and more states move to legalize various uses of cannabis, a recent decision on an application for U.S. citizenship demonstrates its possession, use, and distribution remain illegal under federal law and can have significant consequences.
Continue Reading Cannabis Continues to Demonstrate Major Differences Between State and Federal Law
On March 7, 2023, a federal court in Pennsylvania issued a ruling denying a cannabis company’s motion to dismiss claims based on the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (the “FLSA”). The opinion in DeMarco et al. v. FarmaceuticalRC, LLC et al., W.D. Pa. Case No. 2022cv-1164, covers familiar ground in the realm of FLSA misclassification cases, and explains why the plaintiffs—who work as drivers ferrying defendants’ cannabis products along their supply chain—sufficiently pled their claims. Specifically, the court applied the six-factor test for determining whether a given worker is an employee or an independent contractor and found that plaintiffs had sufficiently alleged the existence of an employer-employee relationship.
Continue Reading Cannabis Employee Misclassification Case Moves Forward in Federal Court
Earlier this month, a cannabis company located in Manistee, Michigan, announced that its dispensary workers successfully unionized, marking the first instance of organized labor in the state’s cannabis industry. The company’s dispensary workers are now members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 876. While Michigan has a long history of unionized workforces, this is a new development for the state’s cannabis industry. Industry employers should take note of some key considerations when managing a union shop.[1]
Continue Reading Organized Labor Rolls Up To The Michigan Cannabis Industry