The lawsuit, filed February 20 in Los Angeles County Superior Court by former pot trimmer Gerard Melendez, also names as defendants Glass House subsidiaries Glass House Camarillo Cultivation, Mission Health Associates and GH Camarillo as well as Houweling’s Camarillo and Labor Force Management, according to Law360. (Melendez was initially employed by Labor Force Management and Houweling’s.)
Melendez claims that he 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. Those quotas comprised trimming four pounds of cannabis a day at a marijuana farm in Ventura County and workers either had to shorten or eliminate meal breaks to meet those demands. Because the company was short-staffed, it led to unreasonable expectations for workers, such as the four pounds-a-day demand. (Four pounds is about double the output of a skilled hand-trimmer, according to a Mobius case study.)
The lawsuit claims that Glass House:
- Failed to pay wages, sick pay and overtime pay,
- Failed to provide meal breaks, rest periods, bathroom breaks,
- Exposed workers to safety hazards while working overtime, such as recovery or cool down periods in the heat,
- Did not provide itemized wage statements,
- Did not reimburse business expenses, and other violations under the state’s quota and unfair-compensation laws.
The lawsuit states: “Defendants knew or should have known they had a duty to compensate plaintiff and class members, and defendants had the financial ability to pay such compensation, but willingly, knowingly, and intentionally failed to do so in order to increase the defendants’ profits.” Melendez is seeking compensation for himself and others who’ve worked for Glass House during the past four years.
The case is Melendez v. Glass House Camarillo Cultivation LLC et al.
CANNABIS CONFRONTATION
While the above lawsuit is waiting for class action status, Glass House is also embroiled in a lawsuit by another California cannabis company. Catalyst Cannabis Co. filed the defamation lawsuit last June under its company name 562 Discount Med Inc. accusing Glass House of being “one of the largest, not the largest, black marketers of cannabis in the State of California, if not the country.” Catalyst Chief Executive Officer Elliot Lewis is far from laid back and has posted multiple videos on LinkedIn detailing his view of Glass House’s alleged wrongdoings.
