The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) is the law that, among other things, requires covered employees to be paid time-and-a-half for hours worked over 40 hours in a given week. As we have repeatedly said to anyone who will listen, the fact that cannabis remains federally illegal does not mean that cannabis employers can ignore federal employment (or any other) law. The case of Waxler v All Green Transport LLC, et al., currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan with case number 23-cv-00897, is a perfect example of that.Continue Reading Michigan Secure Cannabis Transporter Does Not Get Quick Dismissal From FLSA Case

  • In the month of February, Notices of Assessment for the 2024 tax year will be sent to taxpayers in the State of Michigan. The Notice of Assessment will include the Classification of your property in addition to the Assessed/State Equalized and Taxable Values.
  • Licensed Medical or Adult-Use Marijuana Growers should pay particularly close attention to their Notices of Assessment, as they have an opportunity to pursue substantial property tax savings.

Continue Reading Appeals of Classification of Cannabis Growing Real Property – Opportunity for Tax Savings

In 2023, historic strides were made in the efforts to pass federal legislation to protect financial institutions that do business with the cannabis industry. The SAFE Banking Act is a bill that aims to protect banks that serve legal cannabis businesses from federal penalties. The bill was first introduced in 2019 and passed the House of Representatives numerous times but stalled in the Senate during each session. That was, until this year. The Senate Banking Committee, by a notable bipartisan majority of 14-9, on September 27, passed their version of the bill (The SAFER Act) out of committee. The bill, SB. 2860 now goes to the Senate floor sometime for consideration, but roadblocks remain on its future in that chamber.Continue Reading Cannabis Banking Bill Faces Challenges as 2023 Ends, Hopes for Passage in 2024

As readers of this blog and the cannabis industry are aware, the conflict between state and federal law on the issue of cannabis is a constant source of tension, struggle, and frustration for the cannabis industry, their employees, and those who provide services to the industry. Among the many sources of consternation is the unwillingness of many financial institutions to provide services to the cannabis industry given its illegal status under federal law. While most cannabis businesses have access to traditional business checking account services, they generally lack access to the full suite of financial products and services that financial institutions offer to all other businesses, such as business loans, lines of credit, commercial mortgages, etc.Continue Reading Finally, Federal Cannabis Banking Reform?!?!